African Association for the Study of Religions http://www.a-asr.org/ ISSN 2079-8318 AASR u BULLETIN NO. 41 m NOVEMBER 201 4 p FROM THE PRESIDENT 3-5 FROM THE GENERAL SECRETARY 5-7 FROM THE TREASURER 7-8 THE REVISED AASR CONSTITUTION 8-11 IAHR NOMINATIONS 2015-2020 12-14 7TH AASR CONFERENCE IN AFRICA , LEGON, GHANA, 26-29 JULY 2016 15-16 AASR-NA PANELS NOVEMBER 2014 16-18 AAR AWARD FOR AFE & DAMARIS 18 AASR E-JOURNAL 19 IAHR AFRICAN TRUST FUND 2015 20-22 2 PHD RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS 22 / CAPE TOWN 2014 23-29 PUBLISH OR PERISH 30-36 REVIEW: INVENTING GOD 36-38 PERSONS & POSTS 39-40 NEW AASR MEMBERS 40-42 ILORIN JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES 43 RECENT PUBLICATIONS A-J 43-72 1 2 AASR Bulletin 41 (November 2014) http://www.a-asr.org/ AASR EXECUTIVE 2010-2015 President: Elias Kifon Bongmba , Harry and Hazel Chair in Christian Theology, Professor of Religious Studies, Managing Editor CSSR; Dept. of Religious Studies, Rice University, 6100 Main St MS-156, Houston, TX 77005, USA. Phone: +1.713.348-2759 [email protected] Vice President: Ezra Chitando , Professor, Dept of Religious Studies, Classics & Philosophy, University of Zimbabwe, PO Box MP 167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe. Phone: +263 (1) 303.211, Ext 1248; Fax: +263 (1) 333.407 [email protected] Secretary General: Afe Adogame , School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, New College, Mound Place, Edinburgh EH1 2LX, UK. Phone. +44 (0) 131 650 8928; Mob. +44 (0) 7784 118 732; [email protected] http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/divinity/staff-profiles/adogame Treasurer: Abel Ugba , Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Media & Cultural Studies, University of East London, Docklands Campus, 4-6 University Way, London E16 2RD, UK. Phone: +35 208 223 73683; Fax: +353-1-6771300. [email protected] http://www.uel.ac.uk/hss/staff/abel-ugba/index.htm Assistant Secretary General & Webmaster: Melissa D. Browning PhD [email protected]; [email protected] http://www.melissabrowning.com/mb/Home.html Assistant Webmaster : Jan G. Platvoet, Gildenring 52, 3981 JG Bunnik, The Netherlands. Phone: +31.30.6562680. [email protected] AASR Bulletin Editor: Lovemore Togarasei, Dept. of Theology & Religious Studies, Univer- sity of Botswana, PO Box 0022, Gaborone, Botswana. Phone: +267 712.22.543 [email protected] AASR Bulletin Editor: Oyeronke Olademo, Department of Religions, University of Ilorin, PMB 1515, Ilorin, Nigeria. Phone: +234 -7060885824; +234 -8059233925 (home) [email protected] Publications Officer: J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Trinity Theological Seminary, P.O. Box 48, Legon, Accra, Ghana. Phone: +233-21-500541 (office) +233-20-8151936 (Cell) [email protected] AASR e-Journal Editor in Chief : Afe Adogame (The University of Edinburgh, UK) AASR e-Journal Deputy Editor : J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu (Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Ghana) AASR e-Journal Reviews Editors : Jan G. Platvoet [Bunnik, Lei- den. The Netherlands]; Abel Ugba [University of East London, UK]; Janice McLean [City Seminary, New York, USA]; Lovemore Toga- rasei [University of Botswana, Gaborone] Continued on inside rear cover, p. 73 AASR BULLETIN 41 (N OVEMBER 2014) 3 http://www.a-asr.org/ FROM THE PRESIDENT Elias K. Bongmba During the Summer and Fall of 2014, the global community has been struck with a severe crises because of the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Dis- ease (EVD). It first appeared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976 and was named after the river in the region. Some of the regions that were hard hit by the virus were Nzara in Su- dan, and Yambuku in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The experts described the disease which the virus caused as a hemorrhagic fever. It was thought that the virus could be contracted from animals and fruit bats in the area that were themselves infected with this highly contagious virus. Since then contracting the virus has also been associated, among other things, with eating ʽbush meat ʼ. The current global outbreak started in Guinea in December of 2013, and spread to other countries in the region, including Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Some cases were also report- ed in Nigeria among medical staff, in Senegal, Spain, and the United States of America, where some of the patients were medical staff who contracted the virus while treating Ebola patients in West Africa. The death of Mr. Duncan in the United States from EVD sparked a spirited debate about local and global response to the crisis, with many arguing that he was not treated fairly. But his death also raised questions about the realities of global connectedness during a challeng- ing health situation, emergency room procedures, patient’s responsibility in connecting and communicating the severity of an illness, the broad issues of stigma and discrimination, and question of quarantine, with the cases in Main and New Jersey raising some important legal is- sues. As of December 3, 2014, the United States Centers for Disease Control reported 2164 cases in Guinea, 7635 cases in Liberia, 7312 cases in Sierra Leone, 4 cases in the United States, 8 cases in Mali, 20 in Nigeria, 1 in Senegal, and 1 in Spain. There are differences between re- ported cases and laboratory confirmed cases. About 6080 persons have lost their lives to EVD. 1 The first phase of vaccine trial has just been completed in the US and it is hoped that it will also be tested in West Africa. The political, medical, and economic responses to the outbreak have varied, but have not been as robust as one would have expected. Appeals from internatio- nal organizations like the World Health Organization, or Treatment teams like Doctors without Borders, continue to warn the global community that unless we all do more to combat the dis- ease now, we face tougher challenges in the future. The current Ebola outbreak has given rise to a vibrant discourse on the virus, infectious diseases, treatment, vaccine development, and global inequality in health care. The global response has ranged from individual responses from people who have made a commitment to serve in the countries affected; group responses by organiza- tions like Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), which has an excellent track record on global health and epidemics and has committed over 3,000 medical personnel and other staff members to the fight against the virus as have private missionary organizations like 1 Cf. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/case-counts.html 4 AASR Bulletin 41 (November 2014) http://www.a-asr.org/ Samaritan’s Purse whose staff members have worked in the region for a long time. Cuban Doc- tors have been sent to Africa to combat the spread of the disease, as have the 3000 US military personnel President Barak Obama of the United States sent to West Africa to join the fight. The politics and global inequities which affect health care, and the production and market- ing of pharmaceutical products remain major issues as the global community seeks ways of combating the spread of the virus and new forms of treatment. In this context, African countries have complained that they feel abandoned by a global community that is not doing much to combat the disease. Some have even argued that the case of Mr. Duncan, though it is unfortu- nate that he died from complications of the disease, has given the global community an opportu- nity to rethink the response because it has reminded us that viruses do not respect borders. As we move forward, there are many lessons to be learned here. First, I think it is prudent for the countries affected the most to continue to make public health a priority. There is no doubt that the nations affected the most have seen a decline or collapse of their health care in- frastructure over the years and have therefore not been able to respond adequately to the chal- lenges posed by the Ebola virus. Second, the Ebola crisis reminds us of the need to rethink our policies on research and drug developments. These are costly enterprises, but the Ebola virus and HIV AIDS virus, remind us that if the global community does not invest in research and drug development even on illnesses that do not affect all regions of the world, every opportunity wasted is only a step towards the next disaster. The global community can no longer afford to ignore viruses that emerge in one region and think that they can be isolated in that region. Third, amidst all the debates, we have also learned one important lesson. As deadly as the virus is, infected people can be treated successfully. Two doctors have been successfully treated in the United States, two nurses from Dallas Presbyterian have also been treated successfully, 1 person was treated successfully in Senegal and 1 person was also treated successfully in Nige- ria. And quite a number of Ebola patients in West Africa did survive. The average EVD case fa- tality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. Supportive care-rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival. 2There are lessons we can learn from these successful therapies that could provide models for what the global community should be doing to address the crisis. Finally, as scholars of religion, our colleagues who study religion and health, especially in Africa, have a lot of work to do. I think we are invited to think about the social context of the disease, understand different etiologies, local forms of treatments, cultural practices that could improve response to crisis like the Ebola virus, and those that hinder progress towards treat- ment.