Conference addresses charisma - from Mother Theresa to Sarah Palin

What is charisma and how does it affect religion, politics and modern celebrity culture? These are among the questions that will be discussed at a major conference hosted by the Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) at the University of Birmingham on Friday 3 June. The 'Charisma - After Weber' International Conference will look at issues as varied as the cult of personality in totalitarian societies and charismatic figures in religion. Gisela Stewart MP will open the conference with an address on charisma in contemporary politics. Charisma Studies is a growing area of research attracting the attention of scholars from various academic disciplines both in Social Sciences and Humanities, such as Sociology, Politics, Theology, English, Film, Television, History, Psychology, and Business and Management. A renowned expert in Mother Teresa, Dr Gëzim Alpion, who has organised the conference, explains: "Charisma has a relevance to a wide range of fields including political leadership, religion, business management and celebrity culture. The fact that the same conference can include presentations on Jyoti Basu, Lee Kuan Yew, Sarah Palin and Mother Theresa and literary characters like Beowulf and Malcolm Tucker shows how broad the study of charisma is. It is hoped that the conference will identify new trends in the study of Charisma." Presenters will cover history, literature, popular culture and religion over the course of the day.