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The Study of Religions Undergraduate and Postgraduate Conference - Love and Religions
Taking place on Saturday, March 29th, 2025
The Study of Religions Undergraduate and Postgraduate Interdisciplinary Conference
Love and Religions
Saturday, March 29th, 2025 | UCC’s NW Council Room
10:00 Opening Address Amanullah De Sondy (UCC Study of Religions)
10:10 Panel One: Loving the Planet
Chair: Jenny Butler (UCC Study of Religions)
Rivka Desbordes (UCC Study of Religions) – “Kindling our Love for the Living Earth through
Contemporary Spirituality and Deep Ecology”
Sandra James (UCC Anthropology) – “Love Thy Planet: Celtic Christianity and the Ethics of
Nature”
Charis Stadler (UCC Study of Religions) – “Reciprocity: Sustainable Love as Shown by the
American Potawatomi”
11:15 Tea Break (Provided)
11:30 Panel Two: Inclusive Love and Commitment
Chair: Robyn McAuliffe (UCC English and Study of Religions)
Jan Dunaiev (UCC Study of Religions) – “‘Self-abandonment is the creed and religion of
lovers’: Queer Love as Modesty and Self-Realization amongst Sufi Practitioners”
Fahmeda Naheed (Community Development Officer, Radio Presenter and Co-Chair Cork 3
Faiths Forum) and Jamil Akhtar (Islamic Studies, University of the Punjab) – “Loving the
Stranger: Islamic Hospitality and Love Beyond Boundaries”
Natasha Dukelow (UCC History) – “Love and Marriage: Medieval Perspectives in a ThirteenthCentury Preaching Collection”
Denise Bruekl (UCC Music) – “The Song of Songs: Singing Erotic Love Poetry in Church”
12:45 Lunch (Provided)
13:15 Lightning Talks
Chair: Brendan McNamara (UCC Study of Religions)
Cedar Monroe (UCC Study of Religions) – “For Love of Land: Can Nature Spiritualities and Folk
Religions inspire Ecological Change?”
Amin Sharifi Isaloo (UCC Sociology & Criminology) – “Common Ground - Religions and Love”
Amir Shahhosseini Angas (UCC Philosophy) – “Gay Love in Classic Persian Poems”
Diarmuid Scully (UCC History) – “Was there any love?: Early LGBT activism and the Christian
Churches in Ireland (1970s-1980s)”
Amna Walayat (Visual Artist/Cultural Activist, Backwater Artists) – “Divine Brushstrokes: An
Artistic Journey Through Art, Love, and Islam”
Caroline West (Sexual Violence and Harassment Prevention and Response Manager, UCC) –
“Sex and Religion in Dublin’s Forgotten Red Light District from 1860-1925”
14:30 Closing Address Evelien Geerts (UCC Gender, Women’s Studies and Philosophy)