Events
Lectures, conferences, symposia, a film series, field-trips and special events—these are some of the channels through which knowledge generated from CSRS research is shared with the community. With few exceptions, CSRS events are free and open to all members of the public and university community.
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Click the above icon to watch our past lectures on our YouTube Channel
- CSRS Lectures, Sep - Dec 2023
- CSRS Lectures, April-May, 2023
- John Albert Hall Lectures
- CSRS Lectures, Jan - Apr 2023
- Special Events
- Films
The CSRS Weekly Lecture Series
September-December 2023
These CSRS lectures feature our fellows and special guests. They are held from 5:00-6:00 pm Pacific Time on Thursdays throughout the academic year, with the exception of some special lectures (see dates below with an asterisk* for exceptions).
Scholars in the Square: Our New Public Lecture Format
We are delighted to launch the brand-new Scholars in the Square format in September 2023. These lectures will be held in an intimate venue, with a maximum audience of 20 people. The speaker will present their lecture in 20 minutes, after which the CSRS director and an interlocutor with expertise in the speaker’s topic will engage the speaker in conversation for 20 minutes. The “Square” in our new format refers to the public square, and so in the final 20 minutes of the event, we will take questions from the other people in the room and from an online audience. The talks will then be posted on our website. This format helps us to share with the world the very best of the CSRS: collegial conversations that build bridges between specialists and broadly curious members of the public.
The general public is welcome to join us online. To join the lecture online, click the button below. Please sign in at least five minutes prior to the lecture.
Click here to attend the lecture
Click speakers' names for more details. Click here to access our YouTube channel for recordings.
All lectures include audience Q&A.
Audio recordings of past lectures are available on UVic's SoundCloud site and the videos for the John Albert Hall Lectures are available on our Vimeo page.
Sept. 14th, 2023 | Abby Day | Who Needs a Priest When You Have a Hairdresser?: Baring Bodies, Baring Souls |
Sept. 21st, 2023 |
Paul Bramadat | Yoga: Punch-line, Panacea, or Problem? |
Sept. 28th, 2023 | Megan Hollinger | Creating Contact, Bridging Divides |
Oct. 5th, 2023 | John Nelson | Adventures with Religions in Contemporary Asia |
Oct. 12th, 2023 | Matt Orr | Science, Spirituality and a Sustainable Future |
*Oct. 17th, 2023 |
*postponed Francesca Stavrakopoulou
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Lansdowne Lecture What Does God Look Like? |
*Oct. 19th, 2023 |
*postponed Francesca Stavrakopoulou |
John Albert Hall lecture Scenes from the Life of God’s Ex-Wife
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Oct. 26th, 2023 |
Julian Evans | Deep Listening and the Animist Imaginary |
*Nov. 3rd, 2023 Friday 12:00-1:20pm |
The Holocaust: An Unfinished History | |
Nov. 9th, 2023 | Devyani Tewari | Flawed: Disability and Marriage Law in India |
Nov. 23rd, 2023 | Neil Montgomery | The Religious Threads of Canada’s Colonial Constitution |
Nov. 30th, 2023 |
Andy Muchin | The Barry Sisters: America’s Yiddish Swingsters |
The CSRS Weekly Lecture Series - April-May 2023
These CSRS lectures feature our fellows and special guests. They are held from 12:00-1:00 pm Pacific Time and provided both in-person and online (unless specifically stated).
Locations of in-person lectures (unless otherwise noted in the table).
David Strong Building (DSB) C103
All lectures include a live audience Q&A (unless otherwise noted)
Audio recordings of past lectures are available on UVic's SoundCloud site and the videos for the John Albert Hall Lectures are available on our Vimeo page.
April 27, 2023 *4:30-7:15pm |
John Albert Hall (JAH) lecture series: A Conversation with Tzeporah Berman
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May 4, 2023 *5:00-6:30pm Upper Lounge in Student Union Building |
John Albert Hall (JAH) lecture series: Permanent Revolution: Religion and The Canadian Social Order *Recording will be availalbe on our YouTube channel on a later date. |
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May 13, 2023 Saturday Click here for the time and location. |
Irfan Ahmad |
The SAR (Society for the Anthropology of Religion) Biennial Conference, partially sponsored by CSRS: Drinking Secularism *Click here for more about the whole SAR event for May 12-14 including Irfan's bio. |
May 17, 2023 Wednesday DSB C103 |
Rethinking Women's Sacred Space in Light of the Sant'Apollinare Nuovo Mosaics | |
May 24, 2023 Wednesday DSB C103 |
"The Branding Irons of Antichrist": Prairie Politics and the Bible |
John Albert Hall Lectures
(click the title for more detail)
Land, Law, Religion and Reconciliation: A Colloquium (May 4-6, 2023)
JAH event in March 2022
Click here to watch a recording of this lecture.
The John Albert Hall Lectures are a multi-part speaker series featuring expert perspectives on the changing role of religion in contemporary society. Support for this series is generously provided by the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets John Albert Hall Trust.
Watch here our past JAH lectures on the CSRS YouTube channel.
The CSRS Weekly Lecture Series - January-April 2023
These CSRS lectures feature our fellows and special guests. They are held from 5:00-6:00 pm Pacific Time on Thursdays throughout the academic year, with the exception of some special lectures (see dates below with an asterisk* for exceptions).
Locations of in person lectures (unless otherwise noted in the table).
January - April 2023: David Turpin Building A110 (unless specified otherwise)
Along with in-person lectures, we will also run parallel online access to these lectures. This online access will be live on Zoom and recordings on the CSRS YouTube channel. Click speakers' names for Zoom sign-in information and more details. Click here or the button above to access our YouTube channel for recordings.
All lectures include a live audience Q&A both in person and on the Zoom platform.
Audio recordings of past lectures are available on UVic's SoundCloud site and the videos for the John Albert Hall Lectures are available on our Vimeo page.
Jan. 12th, 2023 |
Online presentation |
Selling Your Soul for Fun and Profit: Faustian Bargains |
Jan. 19th, 2023 |
Zohra Batul and Reeta Tremblay Online presentation |
Sacred Sites as Public Sphere in Kashmir’s Contentious Politics |
Jan. 26th, 2023 |
Three Bodies of God | |
Feb. 2nd, 2023 -postponed |
Cindy Holmes *lecture moved to April 13th, 2023 |
Around the Table: Dinner Dialogues, Spirituality and Social Justice |
Feb. 9th, 2023 |
Conscience and Democracy |
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Feb. 16th, 2023 |
Tracing Talisman: Power Politics and Religion in Modern Japan |
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March 2nd, 2023 |
'Outward and Visible Signs': Sacramentalism and Modern Art, 1920-1931 |
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March 16th, 2023 | Cambodia: The Impact of Religious Norms on Workplace Safety | |
*March 21st, 2023 Tuesday 5:00-6:30pm HHB105 |
*Please note the change in schedule and location. |
Distinguished Lecture in Islam An Ethics of Love and Justice: Islamic Feminist Reflections |
March 30th, 2023 11:00am-12:00pm |
Online Presentation *Please note the unusual time. |
Visions of Impermanence: Cremation Structures and the Path to Heaven in Northern Thailand |
April 6th, 2023
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Pentimenti: Ceramic Funeral Vessels as Biographies of Spiritual Homecomings |
April 13th, 2023 5:00-6:30pm SUB Upper Lounge |
Around the Table: Dinner Dialogues, Spirituality and Social Justice |
Special Events
The CSRS hosts a range of special events including conferences, symposia, tours, and one-off lectures, often in collaboration with other UVic departments, community organizations, or affiliates such as MEICON.
- 13th Annual MEICON-BC Student Conference on the Middle East and the Islamic World

Distinguished Lecture in Islam
The CSRS presents lectures from an eminent scholar working in fields related to Islamic studies. A fund supporting this lecture series was established in 2007 by an anonymous donor who wished to increase the community's understanding of Islam.
Conferences, Seminars, & Symposiums
In collaboration with community and university partners the CSRS hosts special events such as conferences, seminars, and symposiums. Check back for information about upcoming events as they are schedulled.
Recent Events
Past Events
March 15th, 2019 -- "Religion and its Others: Power, Sovereignty, and Politics in Indian Religions Past and Present" Sponsored by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. Please click here for the symposium agenda.
Centre-Cine Film Series
Upcoming Centre-Cine session:
Past Centre-Cine session:
Night and Fog (Director: Alain Resnais) Watch it here on Vimeo.
Just Mercy (Director: Destin Daniel Cretton) Watch a trailer here.
From September through April, the CSRS presents feature or documentary films as part of the Centre-Cine Film Series. The films are carefully chosen to explore questions of morality, culture, the search for meaning, and other themes arising from the human spiritual journey.
Centre-Cine participants from centre fellows will be sent the name of selected films. It is up to participants to locate and watch the films themselves. All participants are then invited to meet for a group discussion on the films with CSRS Artist-in-Residence, Terry Marner, acting as a facilitator. All films in the series will be available on Netflix and most will be available from the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL) on DVD. Viewers may have to place a hold on the movie if they are using the GVPL.