10 March, 1994
Amsterdam
OPENING OF THE CENTRE FOR THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RELIGION AND SOCIETY.

The Centre for the Comparative Study of Religion and Society was officially
opened on Thursday, 10 March 1994. The Centre is a recent initiative of the
University of Amsterdam and is part of the Faculty of Political, Social and
Cultural Sciences. Its aim is to study religion from a comparative perspective
that is informed by social anthropology and social history. The research
programme examines the social force of both religion and nationalism over the
last one hundred years. It will specifically focus on the role of the state
in the discourse of 'religious/ethnic community' versus 'nation'.
The opening was held at 'Our Lord in the Attic', a Roman Catholic
'schuilkerk', or hidden church, built in 1663. The official address was given
by Professor P.W.M. de Meijer, Rector Magnificus of the University of
Amsterdam. Which will be followed by a short history of the study of religion
in Amsterdam, presented by Professor Jacques Kamstra.
The heart of the afternoon's proceedings was formed by two key-note talks. The
first was given by Arjun Appadurai, Barbara and Richard Franke Professor of
Anthropology and South Asian Studies at the University of Chicago, author of
Worship and Conflict under Colonial Rule (Cambridge, 1980), and editor of the
widely acclaimed The Social Life of Things (Cambridge, 1986). His book on
transnational culture, entitled Imploding Worlds, was published this year. The
second talk was given by Achille Mbembe, Associate Professor of History at the
University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Afriques Indociles (Paris,
1988) and co-author of La Politique par le bas en Afrique noire: Contributions
a une problematique de la democratie (Paris, 1992).
The session was closed by a short summary of the Centre's research programme,
presented by Professor Peter van der Veer.


for further information contact:
Research Centre Religion and Society
University of Amsterdam
Rokin 84
1012 KX  Amsterdam
Tel: (31) 205252120
Fax: (31) 205253615