What The Initiative Does
The Initiative for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion works in a number of capacities. Through its multi-layered structure, the Initiative:
● Provides an interdisciplinary, scholarly, multi-religious, and international forum for the study and understanding of material and visual practices of religions;
● Produces work of intellectual substance and practical use for wide and various audiences in such formats as books, articles, conferences, interviews, exhibitions, lectures, syllabi, film series, and web-based visual and textual resources;
● Contributes to shaping the interdisciplinary academic specialization of religion and material/visual culture studies, including provisions for training new generations of scholars in these subjects;
● Stimulates new conversations with and among scholars in a range of academic settings, religious practitioners from multiple traditions, artists, architects, museum curators and educators, and larger publics.
