In October, I attended the Civil Sphere and Radicalization Conference at the University of Aberdeen. The conference was the last in a series of three conferences, which would become edited book volumes, that aim to place civil sphere theory in a global context. The series began in June 2016, with a conference on the Civil Sphere in Latin America held at Yale University. Almost one year later, a second conference, on the Civil Sphere in East Asia, took place in Hong Kong.
I had been helping Prof. Jeffrey Alexander organize all three conferences and book projects since early spring of 2016. Attending the conference in Aberdeen was a wonderful way to celebrate the fruits of our concerted labors. With the conferences behind us, the series is now in the final stages of publication. We anticipate submitting the last of the manuscript materials to Cambridge University Press in May. The expected publication date for the first volume, Civil Sphere in Latin America, is April 2018. (You can pre-order a copy here.) The second volume, Civil Sphere in East Asia, is forthcoming late summer or early fall, and Breaching the Civil Order should be available by year’s end.
This being my first trip to Scotland, I wish only that I had more time for photo ops and whiskey tasting. Thankfully, I managed to wrangle a few — photos as well as bolts.
I begin with Martin Malone, a poet whom I met in a wee cafe right off campus my first morning in Aberdeen. Poetry and coffee always make for good company. You can learn more about Martin and read some of his work here: http://www.martinmalonepoetry.com/collections
