iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris Miller @cmillerphd.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

New from me, with Lori Beaman and Douglas Ezzy. Based on our research with @nonreligioncf.bsky.social on end of life care

053

Reposted by Chris Miller

Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Join us for our upcoming online seminar with Professor Vivek Venkatesh on “Social Pedagogy for Building Sustainable Resilience with Dispossessed Communities” on Wednesday, 27 May 2026. 3pm South Africa / 9am Canada (Eastern) / 10am Brazil (São Paulo) / 2pm UK

121

Reposted by Chris Miller

Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Join us for our upcoming online masterclass with Professor Paula Montero on “Ethnography Beyond Method: Writing, Theory, and Conceptual Invention” on Monday, 2 February 2026. 3pm South Africa / 8am Canada / 10am Brazil / 1pm UK

111

Chris Miller @cmillerphd.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Happening next week! Join Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh (@giazilo.bsky.social) for a conversation on democracy and human rights Webinar happening Thursday November 27 at 10 AM Eastern More info below or on the @socialrepair.bsky.social website: www.social-repair.org/november-sem...

social-repair.org

SOCIAL REPAIR: REPAIRING SOCIALITY, SAFEGUARDING DEMOCRACY: Transatlantic North-South Narratives and Practices of Deep Equality.

000

Chris Miller @cmillerphd.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Excited to be hosting this webinar later this month! Join Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh who will reflect on the intertwined crises of democracy and human rights. Hosted by @socialrepair.bsky.social this event takes place Thursday November 27 at 10 AM Eastern

110

Reposted by Chris Miller

Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Event Announcement! We are hosting an online seminar with Dr Bonny Ibhawoh (@giazilo.bsky.social) on Democracy and the Tyranny of Possessive Individualism: Reclaiming the Collective in Human Rights Thurs 27 Nov 10:00 ET / 17:00 BRT / 17:00 SAST / 15:00 GMT Zoom ID: 990 4982 8324 Passcode: 929359

Online Seminar
Democracy and the Tyranny of Possessive Individualism: Reclaiming the Collective in Human Rights
With Dr Bonny Ibhawoh

Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh is Professor and Senator William McMaster Chair in Global Human Rights at McMaster University, Canada, where he also serves as Vice-Provost for International Affairs. He is the Independent Expert-Rapporteur and current Chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development. He has taught human rights at universities in Africa, Europe, the United States, and Canada. Dr. Ibhawoh is Project Director of Participedia, a global research network on public participation and democratic innovation, and the founding Director of the McMaster Centre for Human Rights and Restorative Justice. He also leads the Confronting Atrocity Project, a transnational initiative on restorative justice. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

In this talk, Dr Ibhawoh will examine how the intertwined crises of democracy and human rights stem from what C B Macpherson called possessive individualism — the liberal notion of the self as an autonomous proprietor owing little or nothing to society. He will argue that this possessive ethos, embedded in both democratic and human rights traditions, has hollowed out collective life, reducing democracy to market competition and rights to individualized claims. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, from postcolonial human rights charters and the UN Right to Development to movements for climate justice, the talk contends that restoring democratic legitimacy and moral purpose requires rebalancing the relationship between individual freedom and collective responsibility.

Date and time:
Thursday 27 November 2025
17:00 - 18:00 South Africa / 10:00 - 11:00 Canada (Eastern) / 12:00 - 13:00 Brazil São Paulo / 15:00 - 16:00 United Kingdom

Zoom Link: https://swanseauniversity.zoom.us/j/99049828324?pwd=w9p42lidubXU5bc1HtcCFMVbxazy6A.1

Meeting ID: 990 4982 8324
Passcode: 929359

021

Reposted by Chris Miller

Jackman Humanities Institute @jhievents.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

🌿 Death, nature, and renewal. Chris Miller and Melissa Gismondi discuss the growing movement toward natural or “green” burials and what these practices reveal about our relationship with death, nature, and the cycles of life. 🎧 Listen now uoft.me/jhi-podcast @cmillerphd.bsky.social

Speech bubbles in red and teal and a portrait of Chris Miller. Text overlay is Humanities at Large, a podcast from the Jackman Humanities Institute. With host Melissa Gismondi. Going Underground: The World of Natural Burials with Chris Miller.

031

Reposted by Chris Miller

Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Happening this Wednesday! Register for the latest webinar in our series, Nonreligion, Past and Present: Interdisciplinary Conversations, a collaboration with @ishash.bsky.social. This webinar will focus on science and nonreligion. Oct 29, 1pm ET Register here: uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Nonreligion, Past and Present: Interdisciplinary Conversations

Science and Nonreligion

Renny Thomas (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal), Stephen Weldon (University of Oklahoma), Bernard Lightman (York University, Toronto), and Lauren Strumos (University of Alberta).

175

Reposted by Chris Miller

Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Masterclass announcement! Lori Beaman of @nonreligioncf.bsky.social will be talking to us on "Exploring Deep Equality" next week on Thursday 16th October. 3pm South Africa / 9am Canada / 10am Brazil / 2pm UK Zoom link: us06web.zoom.us/j/8160513998... Access code: 108926

Exploring Deep Equality

Speaker: Prof Lori G. Beaman

Lori G. Beaman is the Canada Research Chair in Religious Diversity and Social Change and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa. She directs Nonreligion in a Complex Future, an international, comparative, and interdisciplinary project exploring the social impact of the growth of nonreligion in diverse cultural contexts. Her research focuses on nonreligion, religious diversity, equality, and law, engaging both mainstream and underrepresented populations. She is the author of Deep Equality in an Era of Religious Diversity (Oxford University Press).

Thursday 16th October 2025

15:00–16:30 - South Africa / 9:00–10:30 - Canada / 10:00–11:30 - Brazil / 14:00–14:30 - United Kingdom

Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81605139987?pwd=0fqVBC5RMrdI5eaQKHiCvEguMespPB.1

Access code: 108926

023

Reposted by Chris Miller

Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

📣Event Announcement!📣 Upcoming online seminar: To the right, the feminine: Religious women and the struggles over the public policy repertoire in health in Brazil Tuesday, 22 July 2025 16:00 – 17:00 / South Africa; 10:00 – 11:00 / Ottawa; 11:00 – 12:00 / São Paulo; 15:00 – 16:00 / United Kingdom

To the Right, the Feminine: Religious Women and the Struggles Over the Public Policy Repertoire in Health in Brazil
Speaker: Jacqueline Moraes Teixeira
Jacqueline Moraes Teixeira is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Society at the School of Public Health, University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. She is also a researcher at the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP), where her work explores intersections of gender, race, sexuality, and religion.
She holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from USP. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from USP (2008), and a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Mackenzie Presbyterian University (2012).
Her research focuses on religion and social markers of difference, the role of education in promoting human rights, and how public health policies are shaped and implemented.

Discussant: Ninian Frenguelli
Ninian Frenguelli is a Postdoctoral Research Officer at the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC), based at Swansea University, Wales, United Kingdom.

DATE: Tuesday, 22 July 2025
TIME: 16:00 – 17:00 / South Africa 10:00 – 11:00 / Canada (Ottawa) 11:00 – 12:00 / Brazil (São Paulo) 15:00 – 16:00 / United Kingdom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8611 7216945? pwd=fXTVTroazKlrXZDRpSjlvVLk Yk71G2.1

Hosted by: Repairing Sociality, Safeguarding Democragy research group
Funded by the Trans-Atlantic Platform on Democracy, Governance and Trust

Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento, University of Ottawa, Swansea University, University of the Western Cape, Walter Sisulu University

052

Chris Miller @cmillerphd.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Registration for our 2025 conference is open! Join us at St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY) as we reflect on 'The Future(s) of Religious Studies' View the full program on our website: eiraar.org/index.php/re... Register now: www.eventbrite.ca/e/aar-easter... @aarweb.bsky.social

A poster advertising the EIR's 2025 conference, running April 4-6 2025. Light blue background with a dark blue foreground, showing a cartoon scholar reflecting on the future of the study of religion within universities.

020

Chris Miller @cmillerphd.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Just 2 weeks left to submit a proposal for the 2025 AAR Eastern International Region conference. Join us @stlawrencecollege.bsky.social as we reflect on 'The Future(s) of Religious Studies'! See the poster below, or our website for more details: eiraar.org/index.php/re... Proposals due Dec 16!

A poster announcing the Call for Papers for the AAR EIR 2025 conference. The theme of the conference is "The Future(s) of Religious Studies". The date of the conference is April 4-6, 2025. A large paragraph explaining the conference theme reads: "The Humanities in general and Religious Studies in particular face difficult challenges amid the uncertain future of higher education. Nevertheless, the understanding of religion seems crucial to comprehending present conflicts and future developments in our social, economic, and political worlds. We contend that our members are best served by approaching these challenges collaboratively, drawing from multiple perspectives and areas of expertise. We therefore welcome papers and panels that broadly engage the theme across regions, traditions, historical periods, theories, and methods." The poster includes the logos for 3 event sponsors: the American Academy of Religion, New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium, and St. Lawrence University. For more information, the poster invites people to visit the EIR website: https://eiraar.org/index.php/regional-news/2025-conference-call-for-papers

000

Chris Miller @cmillerphd.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

#SBLAAR24 folks! I'll be presenting in the Death, Dying, and Beyond Unit on Monday from 3-4:30. Come learn how people commemorate their relationships with pets and animals in obituaries!

media.tenor.com

a stuffed animal laying next to a smaller stuffed animal

Alt: Rowlf the dog (a Muppet) petting a small dog

0112

Reposted by Chris Miller

Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Hello Bluesky! 👋 We are an international research project based at the University of Ottawa studying the impacts of the rise of nonreligion, focusing on attitudes to death and dying, the environment, education, immigration, the law, and more. Find out more about our project: nonreligionproject.ca

nonreligionproject.ca

Home - Nonreligion in a Complex Future Project

1157

Chris Miller @cmillerphd.bsky.social · 07/11/2024

2 papers recently out based on my study of obits One gives a broad look at our data set: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... The second (w/ co-authors Hannah McKillop & Sohini Ganguly) focuses on changes spurred by declining religion: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... Happy to see these out!

tandfonline.com

010

Chris Miller @cmillerphd.bsky.social · 19/12/2023

The AAR's Eastern International Region currently has an open CFP for our 2024 Conference in Toronto! See more info in the poster below, or on our website: eiraar.org/index.php/re...

030