Religion and Society
Visiting Scholars
2013 Visiting Scholars
Stéphane Lathion is lecturer in Geneva and is currently the coordinator of GRIS (opens in a new window) (Research Group on Islam in Switzerland). GRIS, which has strong links with the ORS (Religions Observatory in Switzerland) as well as the Lausanne University, conducts research and analysis on Islam in Switzerland, proposes training courses for social workers or any professionals dealing with Muslim populations on topics associated with their day-to-day experiences.
Stéphane will be based at the RSRC during his one-year sabbatical (July 2013-June 2014). His expertise is on Muslims and social cohesion and the sociology of religious authority in Europe, and it will be these themes/areas he will be investigating and comparing to the Australian context. Several researchers in the Centre and School of Social and Sciences and Psychology will be collaborating with Stéphane on these projects.
Professor James Cox (opens in a new window)
James Cox is is an Honorary Professorial Fellow at Edinburgh University (School of Divinity) and a recognised expert in the study of Indigenous Religions, with emphases on Africa, the Arctic and Australia.
James will visit the RSRC in September/October of this year and will be working with A/Prof Adam Possamai and Dr George Morgan on a pilot study to investigate the question of 'Non-Religion' amongst Australian Aboriginal Peoples. James' visit is made possible by a UWS International Research Incentive Scheme (IRIS) grant.
Previous Visitors the the Centre
Professor James T Richardson
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The Centre welcomed Professor James Richardson for three consecutive years in 2010, 2011 and 2012. James is Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies and Director, Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is recognised as a leading expert in the sociology of law and the sociology of religion.
In 2010 James was invited to deliver a public lecture and the opening address at the one-day Shari'a and Legal Pluralism Conference. In 2011 and 2012, James collaborated with staff from the Centre and Professor David Tait from the Justice Research Group to develop a project aimed at examing the experience of Muslims in Australian and US courts.
