AAR Program Unit External Review

The review and evaluation process represents the chief, though not the only, means by which the AAR assesses the work and functionality of its constituent Annual Meetings program units. It is also intended to serve as a way of ensuring that the AAR is responsive to important changes and developments in the academic study of religion and remains representative of the interests and concerns of its members. The external review form should be submitted by the end of December of the review year.

Your name
Reflect on your rating and discuss the extent to which the field of interest represented by the unit continues to reflect a significant area of interest and work for the Academy’s membership. (200-400 words)
Reflect on your rating and describe the intellectual rigor, imagination, conceptual richness, and distinction of the work carried on by the unit, whether through the presentation of papers, the sponsorship of discussions, or the publication of proceedings. (200-400 words)
Reflect on your rating and describe the procedural health of the unit, including leadership practices, such as mechanisms for selecting new chairs and steering committee members; communication within the unit, between units, and with the AAR; and the unit’s proposal review process and other decision-making practices. (200-400 words)
Reflect on your rating and discuss the extent to which the unit’s constituency has been afforded an opportunity to participate in the unit’s sessions (with attention to the demographic diversity (racial/ethnic, gender, geographic), professional diversity (seniority, institutional type), and intellectual diversity (sub-field, methodologies) of presenters). (200-400 words)
Reflect on your rating and describe the unit’s range of appeal to those members of the Academy whose own fields of specialization do not typically fall within the field of interest represented by the unit and the unit’s ability to involve such people periodically in its programs. (200-400 words)
What would be the impact on the Academy if this program unit moved up a tier, moved down a tier, stayed the same, or was dissolved? • Tier 1: two 90-minute sessions • Tier 2: two 2-hour sessions • Tier 3: one 2-hour session and three 90-minute sessions • Tier 4: two 2-hour sessions and two 90-minute sessions • Tier 5: three 2-hour sessions and two 90-minute sessions
Describe the Program Unit’s largest challenges in the next five years, and the unit’s plans for overcoming those challenges. Identify any issues/strengths/vulnerabilities associated with the unit that the Program Committee should be aware of or where Program Committee-level support could be useful. (200-400 words)