FARMINGTON – Some of the world’s foremost historians of religion will be in town for the next three days, sharing their teachings with the community and local students at the third Consultation on Religion and Modernity.

Held at the University of Maine at Farmington, the three-day conference, titled Myth, Memory and History, will feature 12 talks by scholars from institutions such as Harvard University, Syracuse University and the University of California at Los Angeles and countries including Japan, Canada and South Africa.

According to UMF professor and consultation organizer Jennifer Reid, the presentations cover the topics of West African identity, modern Japan, African Myths, the Underground Railroad and Haitian Voodoo, among others. UMF students will moderate the proceedings.

Out of the conference came a recently published book, edited by Reid and named “Religion and Global Culture.”

The text examines how religion has emerged from the history of the 19th and 20th centuries through 10 separate articles penned by scholars who participated in the first consultation held in 2001. Seven of those scholars, including Charles Long, David Chidester, Davd Carrasco, Kees Bolle and Reid, will participate in the program for this weekend’s conference, which starts at 7 p.m. Thursday with a keynote roundtable discussion featuring Long, Carrasco and Bolle. It runs through Saturday evening, with all presentations held in the UMF Student Center’s North Dining Hall B.

Reid says community members who attended the 2001 conference influenced the book. The consultations, she points out, are informal. Presenting scholars and audience quickly establish a laid-back dialogue. “This isn’t some type of sterile intellectual environment,” Reid said, encouraging interested community members to attend. “It’s very informal. It’s just people gathering to hash out an issue. It’s an academic meeting, but the presenters try to talk in real language.”

The goal of the consultations, Reid says, is to be informed about the past and the present, to better shape the future.

“Our understanding of modern history is not complete,” she said. “Each year, we are chasing after coming to an understanding about the globalized world we need to create in the 21st century.”

For more information, contact Jennifer Reid at 778-9644 or email jreid@maine.edu.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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