Working groups play active role at ABS conference and year-round

Working groups formed by the Association for Baha’i Studies–North America are increasingly lending year-round momentum to the association’s efforts to foster both the generation and application of knowledge.

Made up of people who share academic and professional interests, these groups also helped shape the program of the 42nd annual ABS conference, Aug. 9–12 in Atlanta, Georgia. Participants in the working groups offered many of the gathering’s presentations.

Participants in the agriculture, economies, health, indigenous studies, law, and media groups carved out time during the conference to catch up on one another’s pursuits. Groups also made plans to meet throughout the year — in seminars or other in-person gatherings, or via regular conference calls.

As a participant in the media group noted during its meeting, the groups serve as spaces for people in shared disciplines to learn together how to contribute more effectively and coherently to the discourses in their field, discuss issues related to the fields, to identify others who work along the same or complementary lines, and advance research and writing projects.

One such project by media group participants was a breakout session at the conference, led by an Atlanta teacher and a Washington, DC, film student. Noting that film studies and filmmaking often reflect an assumption that conflict is embedded in human nature, they countered with Baha’i teachings demonstrating the value of non-conflictual narratives that otherwise might remain ignored.