Events

Former fellow Vincent Gornall leads a walking tour

Former CSRS graduate student fellow Vincent Gornall leading a walking tour which highlighed religious aspects of Victoria’s urban environment. Photo by Ray Lister.

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.

The CSRS Weekly Lecture Series

The fall Thursday Public Lecture Series will begin in September, 2018. 

This series features weekly presentations by the various graduate, faculty, and visiting research fellows in residence at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society.

The Thursday Public Lecture Series will take place from 5:00-6:00 pm in Clearihue C112 during the fall semester (Sept.-Dec. 2018), and in David Strong C122 in the spring (Jan.-Apr. 2019). The IdeaFest event on Mar. 7, 2019 will be held in Hickman 105. Light refreshments will be provided.

The John Albert Hall Lectures are from 5:00-6:30 pm and are held in MacLaurin A144 (Nov. 29, 2018) and Hickman 105 (Jan. 17, 2019). Light refreshments will be provided.

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. 13, 2018 Christopher Douglas The Christian Right in American Literature and Culture
Sept. 20, 2018 Kevin Lewis O'Neill The Unmaking of David Roney
Sept. 27, 2018 Grace Sneddon Wong Rescue Home Missions: Institutionalizing Race, Gender and Class
Oct. 4, 2018 Kasra Ghorbaninejad  Protesting Shias, Popish Sultans: Cross-Religious Identification in the 17th Century
Oct. 11, 2018 Angela Andersen

Emblems of Unresolved Matters: Contemporary Islamic Architecture in Turkey
Oct. 18, 2018 Megan Swift Putin and the Patriarch: Appropriating Russia’s National Past
Oct. 25, 2018 Helen Jennings Religion, Indigeneity and Tourism in British Columbia
Nov. 1, 2018 Adrienne Williams Boyarin Converts, Cleaners, and Cannibals: Jewish Women in Medieval English Books
Nov. 8, 2018 Jerald Sabin Faith and Race in Canadian Politics: Language, Media, and the 2017 NDP Leadership Election
Nov. 22, 2018 Zahra Kazani The Theatrics of Script: Material Culture and Magical Practices in Medieval Islam
Nov. 29, 2018 Cheri DiNovo, Jennifer Henry and Gina Messina Gender, Justice and the Church

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.

Distinguished Lecture in Islam

Every two years the CSRS presents a lecture 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.

The next Distinguished Lecture in Islam will take place during the 2018-19 academic year.

Conferences, Seminars, & Symposiums

In collaboration with community and university partners the CSRS hosts special events such as conferences, seminars, and symposiums annually. Check back for information about upcoming events as they are schedulled.

John Albert Hall Lectures

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 BC John Albert Hall Trust. Lectures are free and open to all members of the public and university community. Video recordings of past John Albert Hall Lectures are available on the CSRS vimeo site.

For more information, visit our John Albert Hall page here.

Centre-Cine Film Series

Each month from September through April, the CSRS presented a feature or documentary film 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.


Every month Centre-Cine participants will be sent the name of a selected film. It is up to participants to locate and watch the film themselves. Everyone is then invited to meet for a group discussion on the film with CSRS Artist in residence, Terry Marner, acting as 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.