The general structure of EuroRARE consists in the four research topics outlined in part A. We will establish at least two CRP-units within each field. Within the already existing network there are eight partners ready to prepare a CRP. Others are interested. The network is still open to welcome other scientists willing to organize a CRP-unit or to have an individual project. There will also be, if the matching funds are given, 2 CRP’s in Japan, 2 in South-Africa and 7 in the US to cooperate with us. A single CRP will not have more than 6 scholars. Each CRP will integrate scholars from different disciplines and from different countries.
To allow in-depth research there will be about 40 PhD-projects, 10 Post-Doc-projects and 5 Individual projects within EuroRARE.
The structural challenge of EuroRARE is to ensure a double cooperation: Along the “vertical” and along the “horizontal” line. This means that the results within one field and between the fields have to be exchanged on a regular basis. For this purpose there will be annual conferences which allow all involved researchers to meet and present their results. At these conferences the various CRPs will gather and discuss a global issue relevant to conflict or post-conflict societies around the world, such as Religion, Violence and Reconciliation in Peru, Rwanda, Cambodia, and so on. These meetings constitute the basis for the “horizontal” integration of the four fields.
To ensure a controlled and productive context for the scholarly progress in each field (vertical networking), researchers of the different CRPs will meet every six months to carry out a workshop, with the participation of the project leader and the principle investigators. These meetings will also support the dissemination of the results to a worldwide community. This will happen by two series of publications, which we expect as a result from the conferences and workshops. One series will sum up the contributions in each field, the other series will concentrate on the conferences and their perspective on or contribution to the overall theme “Religions as agents of reconciliation?” The well known publisher Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (Göttingen) has already affirmed its interest to publish this series.
Another means of communication between the researchers and the wider public is the website. This website already exists under the domain www.religion-and-reconciliation.eu. We aim to build up this website as a platform for all researchers to present and to communicate their topics. Every researcher, from PhD-student to senior professors, shall publish their provisional and final results on the domain. All texts and the discussion forums will be accessible to all researchers in the project by a pass-word. The website also includes a bibliography, links to related websites, and useful material on the project. To manage the website and to keep close contact with all researchers, there should be one person working full time on it.
Finally, we plan a series of four summer schools for PhD-students. We have applied at the VW-Stiftung for a starting summer school in 2009 about the role of religions in violent conflicts in the different regions of the world.
The whole program structure is designed to facilitate trans-disciplinary interaction amongst senior scholars and students, drawing on the most relevant insights from disciplines such as history, philosophy, theology, political science, sociology and psychology. We will work together not only by exchanging research results but also by critically integrating the theoretical and methodological backgrounds of the various disciplines within our discussions.
