The Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies Conference (PMR)
at Villanova University invites you to participate in its
44th International PMR Conference
October 18-20, 2019

As always, the PMR makes an OPEN CALL to scholars, institutions, and societies to propose Papers, Panels, or Sponsored Sessions in all areas and topics in LATE ANTIQUITY/PATRISTICS, BYZANTINE STUDIES, MEDIEVAL STUDIES, ISLAMIC STUDIES, JEWISH STUDIES, and RENAISSANCE & REFORMATION STUDIES.

The PMR committee this year makes a special invitation to scholars from all disciplines in these fields to address our plenary theme:

Faith in History:
Time, Narrative, History, Apocalypse

FEATURING

Gillian Clark
Professor Emerita and Senior Research Fellow
University of Bristol
Author of Christianity in Roman Society

&

Cyril O’Regan
Huisking Professor of Theology
University of Notre Dame
Author of An Anatomy of Misremembering

“And these are the generations…” Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are saturated from their origins with a sense of time and history, but making sense of time and history is difficult. Similarly, as scholars of pre-modern culture, whatever our field or focus, we face the difficulties of telling the story of the diverse and complex interactions of faiths and cultures across Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance and Reformation eras. PMR 2019 will focus in its plenary theme on questions both of history and historiography – how does faith appear in history? How does faith name history? And can we have faith in history?

While, as is our custom, the call for papers will be open, scholars are encouraged to propose papers and panels on the premodern Mediterranean and European cultures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, on their own sense of history and time, on the apocalyptic sensibility, the theology and philosophy of history, on their narrative forms of discourse. In addition, scholars are encouraged to propose papers or panels on the historiography of Late Antiquity, Medieval Studies, and the Early Modern period – can we still tell a compelling story of these periods, even as our understanding grows ever more complex? Is there room for faithful retrieval? Creative fidelity?

Deadline for submissions: June 21, 2019
Notice of acceptance will be made by July 19, 2019

For more information please visit
https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/mission/augustinianinstitute/conferences/pmr.html
Or Call : 610.519.4780 || email: pmr.conference@villanova.edu

Call for Applications and Call for Papers

7th International Summer School and Conference – Beyond Secular Faith

“The Whole in the Fragment: Sacramental versus Contractual Logic”
23– 30 June, 2019 – Granada (Spain)

For more information and to register, click here.

Organizing Institutions
Institute of Philosophy Edith Stein, Granada
Faculty of Philosophy – The Pontifical University of John Paul II, Krakow
International Center for the Study of the Christian Orient, Granada

With the Collaboration of:
Center of Theology and Philosophy, Nottingham
Editorial Nuevo Inicio, Granada
Institute of Theology Lumen Gentium, Granada
Centre for Thought of John Paul II, Varsovia
Pontificia Università Lateranense, Roma
The Ecclesial University Project, Winnipeg (USA)
Saint Joseph’s College, Standish (USA)

International Summer School and Conference

The title of our seventh annual Summer School and International Conference, Beyond Secular Faith is The Whole in the Fragment: Sacramental versus Contractual Logic.

“God is Love”. This wager concerning the nature of God – theological in the deepest sense – is generated, not from an idea, but from the experience of the encounter with Jesus Christ, the primordial “sacrament” of the Father. It entails not only a judgment concerning the nature of God himself but a judgment concerning the nature and meaning of reality and of our embodiment. This Love, of which reality is a sign as Jesus is the sign of the Father, is rightly qualified as semper maior, a fact always greater than our ideas and predeterminations. As such, the sign of love always breaks open our contractual logic. This year’s summer school will be an attempt to think within the horizon of this semper maior, to pose the question of the human as bound up with the Love that is God himself and the world which is the concrete sign of that Love.”

For six years our summer school has facilitated a rich and friendly theological, philosophical and cultural dialogue in freedom, in the unique setting of Granada, a breathtakingly beautiful city that lies at the historic crossroads of modernity and the Christian tradition.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS AND CALL FOR PAPERS
Deadline: 1st April 2019

We invite graduate and PhD students as well as postdoctoral researchers to take part in the International Summer School and Conference
Please send a short CV and a letter of intent to: secretaria@institutoifes.es

If you would like to present a paper, please also send an abstract (400 words) on a topic related to the theme.
Successful candidates will be informed as soon as possible.

INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL

Seminars

• Marek Urban: In Search of the Whole. Between Human Thought and Eschatology
• John Milbank: The Question of Trinitarian Ontology
• Rocco Buttiglione: The Relative Truth of Relativism. A Philosophical/Theological Commentary of Cor. 1:19-20
• Rodrigo Guerra López: Poverty and Christianity: Comprehension and Incomprehension of a Social and Religious Experience

ORGANIZATION AND FEES

Seminars will meet Monday through Thursday (4 hours a day). You can either choose to study for four days or you can also participate and attend a 3-day International Congress at the end of the summer course.

A key feature of the IFES Summer School is the out-of-class learning which will be an integral part of each module. All International Summer students and professors will stay in a 4 star hotel with swimming pool, near the heart of the city.
The programme fee includes all tuition costs, your own private room with bathroom, a comprehensive orientation and social activities.

BLOCK 1 (23-28 June) – Summer School – Room & Board: 550€/person*
BLOCK 2 (27-30 June) – Conference – Room & Board: 390€/person*
BLOCK 1 & 2 (23-30 June) – Summer School & Conference – Room & Board: 695€/person*
BLOCK 3 (27-30 June) – Conference – Without Room & Board: 100€/person
* Early payment discount. Payments must be made before 1st May 2019

Academic Board:
Mátyás Szalay (Director), Marcelo López Cambronero, Artur Mrówczynski – Van Allen

Academic Advisory Board:
Rocco Buttiglione, Carmina Chapp, Rocío Daga, Ildefonso Fernández-Figares, Rodrigo Guerra, Balázs Mezei, Jarosław Jagiełło, Michał Łuczewski, Alison Milbank, John Milbank, Timothy Mosteller, Teresa Obolevitch, Kirsten Pinto-Gfroerer, Enrique Rico Pavés, Aaron Riches, Zbigniew Stawrowski, David Widdicombe.

Secretary:
Eva Martínez García

With kind regards,

Eva Martínez García
Secretaría
Instituto de Filosofía Edith Stein-Academia Internacional de Filosofía
Paseo de Cartuja, 49. 18011 (Granada) España
secretaria@institutoifes.es
www.institutoifes.es
Tel: +34 958 160 978
Fax: +34 958 185 023

For more information and to register, click here.

For a full dossier on the International Summer School, click here [PDF].

Living Freedom 2018 – APPLY NOW

We are encouraging applications for Living Freedom, the residential school for 18-25 year olds organised by the Academy of Ideas. The school takes place at the CIEE Global Institute in central London on 5 – 7 April 2018. See http://www.academyofideas.org.uk/events/living_freedom_2018

Living Freedom provides a stimulating forum for around 40 young advocates of freedom to attend expert talks and participate in meaningful debates. As well as the chance to get to grips with the key thinkers and engage in a series of intellectual challenges the school provides a social forum, offering a chance to meet and socialise with peers from throughout the UK and beyond.

In particular, Living Freedom 2018 is an opportunity to explore contemporary conundrums around liberty and autonomy, using both the insights of ‘the best that is known and thought’ and the provocations of contemporary intellectuals, to get to grips with the complexities and contradictions of freedom in the twenty-first century. Freedom and tolerance are frequently asserted as fundamental values. In practice, however, aspects of freedom as they relate to different experiences or discrete groups are increasingly viewed as being in conflict. This has led many to question the virtues of an unconditional defence of tolerance or a no-holds-barred approach to the exercise of freedom. For example, if one culture or identity needs to be protected from appropriation by other groups, how does this effect universal notions or treating people equally? Or if an individual or group requires being shielded from potentially offensive remarks, then protecting the freedom of one depends on the denial of freedom to others. Such is the minefield of confusion around freedom today that what once were considered historic gains are now called into question: national sovereignty seems to conflict with rights to freedom of movement; sexual liberation with the right of women to be protected; the freedom not to be judged by gender or the colour of one’s skin with the demand for segregated safe spaces, whether on campus or public transport. Living Freedom aims to make the case for freedom today while providing plenty of opportunity for challenging discussion.

Lectures, panel debates and seminars include

What is freedom? . The classical conception of freedom . The Enlightenment and freedom: four short lectures on four classic texts . Stop Funding Hate: consumer boycott or censorship? . Freedom of conscience: religious freedom – a critical right or license to discriminate? . National sovereignty versus freedom of movement . Identity politics – finding ourselves or a threat to freedom? . Genetics, genomics and society – determinism versus free will . Generation snowflake – myth or reality? . The new gender wars . Decolonising the curriculum or racialising knowledge? . Silicon Valley: libertarian utopia or surveillance state? . Law & order vs liberty . What the papers say… . Is women’s liberation helped or hindered by #MeToo?

For a flavour of the event, please visit https://goo.gl/TN3Qgp where you can view the 2017 programme.

The school is open to all 18-25 year olds regardless of whether students or in employment. To apply simply submit a short (300 words) statement. Deadline for applications is Monday 5 March.

Email application via http://www.academyofideas.org.uk/events/living_freedom_2018

Attendees pay a nominal fee of £40 which includes provision of central London accommodation for two nights.

Should you have any queries please contact alastairdonald@academyofideas.org.uk or call on 020 7269 9233.

The Endurance of Empire

A Conference on Modern Orthodox Theology

27-28 March 2017, Eastwood Room
(Office of Post-Doctoral Affairs,
University of Cambridge,
16 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1RX)

More information: tinyurl.com/yann17

CALL FOR PAPERS

We welcome paper proposals (20mins) on Christos Yannaras’ thought, work and relevance to areas of philosophy, theology, political science and related disciplines. All papers must be presented in English. Please send us the title and a short abstract of your presentation (200-400 words) in English, along with a short CV, until Wednesday 22 February 2017 via e-mail to sm2267@cam.ac.uk. You will be informed concerning the acceptance of your paper on Sunday 26 February 2017, and you will be asked to submit the registration fee (£30, covering registration, the conference banquet on Monday 27 March, as well as coffee & refreshments) via bank transfer/paypal/Transferwise. Participants must make their own arrangements concerning travel and accommodation in Cambridge.

About the conference:

Professor Christos Yannaras (born 1935 in Athens, Greece) has been proclaimed “one of the most significant Christian philosophers in Europe” (Rowan Williams), “without doubt the most important living Greek Orthodox theologian” (Andrew Louth), “contemporary Greece’s greatest thinker” (Olivier Clément). However, until recently the English-speaking scholar did not have first-hand access to the main bulk of his work: in spite of the relatively early English translation of his The Freedom of Morality (1984), most of his books appeared in English fairly recently—such as Person and Eros (2007), Orthodoxy and the West (2006), Relational Ontology (2011) or The Schism in Philosophy (2015). In this conference, the papers that will be presented shall examine numerous aspects of Yannaras’ contributions to Orthodox theology, philosophy and political science, based on his relational ontology of the person (later popularised in the Anglophone sphere by John Zizioulas). Topics that shall be covered include apophaticism and Yannaras’ appropriation thereof, the patristic grounding of the theology of the person, the possibility of an Orthodox political theology and contemporary problems in Orthodox theology, the formation and content of a critical and relational ontology, communo-centricism, and many others.

Organising Committee:
Revd Dr Andreas Andreopoulos, Mr Pui Him Ip, Revd Dr Isidoros Katsos, Dr Sotiris Mitralexis, Dr Dionysios Skliris

For all enquiries please contact Dr Sotiris Mitralexis: sm2267@cam.ac.uk.

Call for Applications and Call for Papers

5th  International Summer School and Conference – Beyond Secular Faith
“Politics as Theology”
25th June–1st July,  2017, Granada (Spain)

Organizing Institutions

Institute of Philosophy Edith Stein, Granada
Faculty of Philosophy – The Pontifical University of John Paul II , Krakow
International Center for the Study of the Christian Orient, Granada

We invite graduate and PhD students as well as postdoctoral researchers to take part in the International Summer School and Conference.

International Summer School and Conference

The title of our fifth annual Summer School and International Conference, Beyond Secular Faith, stems from our conviction that only a faith liberated from the conceptual restraints and ideological presuppositions imposed by secular culture – a faith centered radically on Christ – can offer a word of hope and reason to human life. This year our summer school will be dedicated to explore the question of the political, and specifically the ways in which every theology is political and every politics, theological. The question thus becomes, for Christian life, what is the adequate theological form of political narratives? Or better, what form of political practice and belonging does theology entail.

For four years our summer school has facilitated a rich and friendly theological, philosophical and cultural dialogue in freedom, in the unique setting of Granada, a breathtakingly beautiful city that lies at the historic crossroads of modernity and the Christian tradition.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS AND CALL FOR PAPERS

Deadline: 1st May 2017

We invite graduate students and young postdoctoral researchers to take part in the Summer School and International Conference.

Please send a short CV and a letter of intent to: secretaria@institutoifes.es

If you would like to present a paper, please also send an abstract (400 words) on a topic related to the theme, preferably on:

• The Political Theory of Liberalism
• Economic and Civil Economy
• Constitutional Theory — the Crisis of Democracy and the Issue of Mixed Government
• Liberal Culture and Formative Education
• International Relations in Theory and Today in Practice
• State and Church — the Question of the Body Politic
• The Relation of Temporal and Eternal Justice
• Biopolitics and Sovereignty
• Democracy and Christianity

Successful candidates will be informed by 8th May 2017.

Seminars:

• Alison Milbank: “Theopolitical Vision of Chesterton and Tolkien and its Contemporary Relevance”
• Robert Wozniak: “Self, Politics and Theology: Beyond Ego-Centric Reason”
• Rocco Buttiglione /Michal Łuczewski: “Conversion and Coercion. The Political Theology of John Paul II”
• Aaron Riches / David Widdicombe:  “Politics and the Epistle to the Romans”

Master Seminars hosted by John Milbank:

• Rocío Daga: “Religion in Islam: A Historical Perspective”
• Zbigniew Stawrowski: “What is Political Theology?”

Keynote lectures:

• Jarosław Jagiełło:  “Christianity and Democracy. The Relation between Truth and Freedom”
• John Milbank: ”Religion, Power and Order”

ORGANIZATION AND FEES
Seminars will meet Monday through Thursday, for a total of 4 hours of class time a day. The initial paper proposals will be enriched and revised by the students through participation in their classes, and will then be presented in a conference format on Friday and Saturday.

Accommodation in a lovely Hotel located in the heart of Granada, near the Albaycin, the old Moorish quarter of the city.

Course, material, room and full board for only 350€ per person if payment is made before the 15th May 2017.

Academic Board:
Mátyás Szalay (Director), Marcelo López Cambronero, Artur Mrówczynski – Van Allen, Aaron Riches

Academic Advisory Board:
Carmina Chapp, Rocío Daga, Ildefonso Fernández-Figares, Jarosław Jagiełło, Michał Łuczewski, Allison Milbank, John Milbank, Timothy Mosteller, Teresa Obolevitch, Kirsten Pinto-Gfroerer, Enrique Rico Pavés, Zbigniew Stawrowski.

Secretary:
Eva Martínez García

More details available: http://www.institutoifes.es/index.php/es/noticias-es/ultimas-noticias/1464-5th-annual-international-summer-school-and-conference-2017

Download the full programme.

“Slavoj Žižek and Christianity”

Editors: Dr Sotiris Mitralexis & Dr Dionysios Skliris

We would like to invite scholars interested in the Žižekian work’s relationship to Christianity or Christian theology to submit a scholarly article/book chapter for inclusion in the upcoming academic volume entitled Slavoj Žižek and Christianity. While this volume cannot but be interdisciplinary in nature, and this is most welcome, the editors aim at a primary categorization of the volume under “philosophy” (rather than, for example, social studies or theology).

Slavoj Žižek’s critical engagement with Christian theology goes way beyond his seminal monograph The Fragile Absolute, or his The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity, or his discussion with noted theologian John Milbank, The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? (as well as substantial parts of The Parallax View). His reading of Christianity as expounded in his voluminous hitherto oeuvre, uniting elements of Lacanian psychoanalysis and Hegelian philosophy as well as modern and contemporary philosophical currents, has a rightful claim to originality. Far from being an outright rejection of Christian thought and intellectual heritage, Žižek’s work could be seen as a perverse (or “decaffeinated”) affirmation thereof, which could perhaps include elements that would be of interest to Christian theology itself. This volume focuses on these aspects of Slavoj Žižek’s thought and, either with philosophy and cultural theory or with Christian theology serving as starting points of enquiry, unites a variety of different approaches to the broad thematic area that is circumscribed by this comparison—from Hegelianism and psychoanalysis to social theory and cultural studies.

Those interested in contributing to this volume should take heed of the following:

For the peer-reviewed selection process, please send to zizek2015@gmail.com no later than April 1, 2016, one DOC(X) or RTF file consisting of the following:

• On the first page, a 200-words abstract of your proposed book chapter, along with your name and affiliation, and a word count estimation of the final book chapter.
• Starting from the second page, an academic CV including a publication list, and
• a writing sample, i.e. a published (or accepted for publication) journal article or a thesis chapter, not necessarily related to this volume’s thematic area.

As soon as the book chapters have been selected on the basis of paper abstracts, the book proposal will be submitted to international academic publishing houses.

For the second stage, i.e. the submission of book chapters for publication by the authors that have been selected, please follow the following guidelines closely and submit your article to zizek2015@gmail.com no later than July 30, 2016.

Guidelines, formatting etc:

• Microsoft Word or RTF
• Single-spaced, justified, 12 pt Times New Roman for the main text and 10 pt Times New Roman for footnotes.
• Where applicable, please render Greek words with Greek characters (Times New Roman).
• Include your name, e-mail address and affiliation just below the title.
• Total length, including footnotes, approximately 6000-9000 words.
• Citations and bibliography: accurate application of the Chicago Manual of Style, “notes and bibliography” system

http://chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html —please follow the Chicago Manual of Style for all relevant matters including punctuation. Use double quotation marks for all cases (including single words) except for quotes within quotes.

• Word processor footnotes rather than endnotes.
• Include a “Works Cited” bibliography at the end.
• To ensure that there are no extra spaces in the document, use your software’s Find and Replace command to substitute all double spaces for single spaces. Repeat this procedure until no double spaces are found.
• When using m-dashes, do not leave any spaces before or after the mdash, e.g. trying to be—assuming it works—some kind of nobility… Also, do not use m-dashes with other sorts of dashes.
• US rather than UK spelling; please proofread your chapter prior to submission.
• Non-native speakers of English should have their text corrected by a native speaker.

]]> http://theologyphilosophycentre.co.uk/2016/02/15/social-media-and-human-flourishing-call-for-papers/ Mon, 15 Feb 2016 23:44:05 +0000 http://theologyphilosophycentre.co.uk/?p=3084 Social Media and Human Flourishing: Call for Papers

Interdisciplinary Colloquium:

September 16-18, 2016, Montreal, Canada

Keynote by Dr. Eric McLuhan
Author of The Sensus Communis, Synesthesia, and the Soul: An Odyssey (2015) and with Marshal McLuhan Media and Formal Cause (2011)

It has now been nearly twenty years since the internet became a defining part of daily human life, and at least five years since social media became a portable and normative vehicle of human interaction.

Data from sources as diverse as neuroscience, psychology, social sciences, education and philosophy are beginning to render a picture of dramatic transformation of the human person. Our brains are being wired differently. The ability to think, to remember, and to contemplate is changing. Social discourse has been affected, especially among the young.

The benefits of digital media are readily visible. Taking a step back, and critically evaluating social media’s effects on human well being is a task that many scholars are now beginning to undertake.

Theological anthropology can make many contributions to the discourse, and conversely, there is much that can enrich a Christian understanding of the human person from the data of the sciences.

This colloquium aims to address the question of social media and its effects, to evaluate our successes and failures in integrating our digital tools, and to seek norms that might guide us to greater human freedom and flourishing.

Submission deadline: May 31, 2016

All papers must demonstrate technical merit and accessibility to a multidisciplinary audience. Final drafts will be considered for publication in an edited volume. To submit a proposal, email a 250-word abstract and C.V. by May 31, 2016 to robert.dispede@mcgill.ca. Final drafts must be submitted by August 31, 2016. Conveners: Robert Di Pede (Newman Institute/McGill University) and John O’Brien SJ (Regis College/University of Toronto).

Hosted and sponsored jointly by the Newman Institute of Catholic Studies and McGill University.

Download the flyer here.

Day Conference – Friday, 20 May 2016
Worcester College, Oxford

This conference is intended to bring theologians, philosophers of religion, and literary scholars together to frame approaches to the problem of political evil—a project one might call ‘political demonology’—for our contemporary political and cultural crisis.

What or who is the political enemy? What is political evil or sin? If we are living in the age of ‘the complete triumph of the individual’ (Giles Châtelet), then the status of ‘individuality’ ‘subjectivity,’ and ‘soul,’ must be attended to in this context. But if individuality is coming to some kind of end (post-modern, post-capitalist, post-material, or otherwise), what moral-political regime is, or should be, appearing on the horizon? And what, then, is the meaning, place, and aesthetic of evil as a political phenomenon? Would the transformation of the individual mean liberation, oblivion, or even imply new forms of violence? And what is the role of statehood or the social? Through this interdisciplinary dialogue we seek to reformulate our own definitions, even as various contemporary crises violently reformulate them for us.

We seek 20-minute papers on any topic relating to ‘political demonology’—broadly defined as the genesis, location, logic, categorization, or implementation of political evil. Participants are encouraged to approach the topic from any angle. While we address ourselves to the present, historical approaches that illuminate the contemporary moment and our current conceptions are very welcome.

Questions to be considered might also include:

• How might we define ‘political demonology’? What inheres in the act of pursuing, however speculatively, a political ‘demonology’? Is the concept of evil valuable to a political project?
• From what point does evil arise in states and communities? What is its metaphysical horizon? How does it afflict political systems? Is it a personal, a systemic, or a substantial category? According to which logic does evil unfold? And what are the remedies—if they exist?
• How might a contemporary understanding of political evil allow us to take a stance against the disposability of human beings, against self-reductionism and the privileging of self-management over creativity?
• What are emerging metaphors and genres in the field of theological and literary hamartiology?
• What might be the implications of the state of exception (Carl Schmitt) – reactionary, radical, or otherwise? Is transcendence an option or fiction? Can we talk about ‘radical evil’ or ‘radical good’?

Please send your abstract (200 words) to: demonologyoxford2016@gmail.com by 20 March 2016.

The conference is organized by the Political Demonology Working Group, initiated by Therese Feiler (Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Theology and Religion) and Michael Mayo (Junior Research Fellow, Faculty of English).

Download the flyer for this event.

—

Chapter proposals are invited for two new book projects, Ecofeminist Intersections and New Voices in Ecofeminist Activism, due by March 1, 2015. Both books explore the manifold ways that ecofeminism has been used across a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including but not limited to such fields as theology, literary criticism, history, philosophy, women’s studies, anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, geography, and political science. Current doctoral students are especially encouraged to submit proposals for New Voices in Ecofeminist Activism, though all proposals will be considered for both books.

We invite proposals for chapters that explicitly address the intersections between ecofeminism and other approaches or perspectives (for example, posthumanism, postcolonial studies, or queer studies). We especially encourage authors to highlight the unique contributions that ecofeminism, in combination with other approaches, brings to their primary discipline.

Interested authors should send a 300-word abstract, 200-word biography, and sample of a previously published chapter or article to dvakoch@ciis.edu by March 1, 2015. First drafts of full chapters (6000 words) are due by September 1, 2015, and final versions are due November 1, 2015.

The editor of Ecofeminist Intersections and New Voices in Ecofeminist Activism, D. A. Vakoch, is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, as well as general editor of Lexington Books’ Ecocritical Theory and Practice Series. Vakoch’s earlier edited books include Ecofeminism and Rhetoric: Critical Perspectives on Sex, Technology, and Discourse (2011), Feminist Ecocriticism: Environment, Women, and Literature (2012), and (with F. Castrillón) Ecopsychology, Phenomenology, and the Environment: The Experience of Nature (2014).

Ecofeminist Intersections and New Voices in Ecofeminist Activism will be guided by Quinby’s (1990, 126) observation that “Like the ecology and feminist movements from which it derives, ecofeminism is not devoid of impulses to develop a ‘coherent’ theory.” And yet, Quinby argues, coherence is limited in the face of modern power relations through which domination occurs. By Quinby’s (1990, 123) analysis, ecofeminism is most effective in opposing the oppressions of modern power by fostering a range of practices and theories: “Against such power, coherence in theory and centralization of practice make a social movement irrelevant or, worse, vulnerable, or—even more dangerous—participatory with the forces of domination.” Contrary to this pull toward uniformity, “Ecofeminist Intersections” and “New Voices in Ecofeminist Activism” will explore the variety of ecofeminisms that have developed since d’Eaubonne coined the word “ecofeminism” in 1974.

In recent years, ecofeminism has played an increasingly important role in a range of disciplines. This new book project, “Ecofeminist Intersections,” explores the manifold ways that ecofeminism has been used across a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including but not limited to such fields as history, philosophy, theology, religious studies, women’s studies, literary criticism, anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, geography, and political science.

We invite proposals for chapters that explicitly address the intersections between ecofeminism and other approaches or perspectives (for example, posthumanism, postcolonial studies, or queer studies). We especially encourage authors to highlight the unique contributions that ecofeminism, in combination with other approaches, brings to their primary discipline.

Interested authors should send a 300-word abstract, 200-word biography, and sample of a previously published chapter or article to dvakoch@ciis.edu by March 1, 2015. First drafts of full chapters (6000 words) are due by September 1, 2015, and final versions are due November 1, 2015.

“Ecofeminist Intersections” will be guided by Quinby’s (1990, 126) observation that “Like the ecology and feminist movements from which it derives, ecofeminism is not devoid of impulses to develop a ‘coherent’ theory.” And yet, Quinby argues, coherence is limited in the face of modern power relations through which domination occurs. By Quinby’s (1990, 123) analysis, ecofeminism is most effective in opposing the oppressions of modern power by fostering a range of practices and theories: “Against such power, coherence in theory and centralization of practice make a social movement irrelevant or, worse, vulnerable, or—even more dangerous—participatory with the forces of domination.” Contrary to this pull toward uniformity, “Ecofeminist Intersections” will explore the variety of ecofeminisms that have developed over the past forty years.

The editor of “Ecofeminist Intersections,” D. A. Vakoch, is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, as well as general editor of Lexington Books’ Ecocritical Theory and Practice Series. Vakoch’s earlier edited books include Ecofeminism and Rhetoric: Critical Perspectives on Sex, Technology, and Discourse (2011), Feminist Ecocriticism: Environment, Women, and Literature (2012), and (with F. Castrillón) Ecopsychology, Phenomenology, and the Environment: The Experience of Nature (2014).

International Conference at the European Cultural Centre of Delphi
29-31 May 2015 in Delphi, Greece

Ontology and History:
A Challenging and Auspicious Dialogue for Philosophy and Theology

This conference will attempt to explore the relationship between ontology and history in the context of both philosophical enquiry and Christian theology. Ontology is the study of being qua being, a field that is typically viewed as distinguishable from––if not also antithetical to––history. However, while the study of being (insofar as it exists) and history may seem unrelated, there is either an explicit or implicit interaction between the two in a number of philosophical traditions; when not explicitly articulated, this implicit interaction emerges as a philosophical problem. And while this is particularly true for various forms of philosophical idealism (e.g. German idealism) and the historicisation of idealism, it emerges as a core problem in the context of Christian theology and its eschatological promise. If the true state of being and beings resides in an eschatological future, not in the present or a distant past (as masterfully expounded by Maximus the Confessor), and if this true state of being and beings is yet to be witnessed, then temporality in general and history in particular become a vital part of ontology proper. This bears immense implications for the philosophical enquiry into ecclesial witness.

Apart from this, a reoccurring challenge within Christianity concerns how we are to make past events present. Rudolf Bultmann tried to make sense of this by elevating word over event. In so doing he formulated an ‘existentialised’ eschatology in which the focus is on the immediate. In current biblical studies there is strong emphasis on making sense of the Resurrection through history, and history is given priority over confession. As a result the ecumenical creeds are denigrated and metaphysical clarification risks being perceived as anti-biblical. In both Catholicism and Orthodoxy there are various construals of anamnesis in which the historical event is made present as a kingdom event through the liturgical experience of the Eucharist. In line with the desire to understand the relationship of the ‘once’ and the ‘always’, there is the challenge of making sense of the particular and the universal. Karl Rahner conflates them: the particular is the universal. Or stepping back in time with Origen, there is the temptation to universalise the particular with salvation. How best can one reconcile the continuity of salvation history and the radical (interruptive) newness of Christ? Political theology, which grew out of a particular account of eschatology, raises the joint concern of how our social histories are legitimated by moral and theological insights about the nature and destiny of the human person. Clearly, the relationship between ontology and history has immense wide-ranging philosophical and theological implications.

Featured Speakers:

• John Panteleimon Manoussakis (Associate Professor of Philosophy – College of the Holy Cross, Boston MA)
• Alan J. Torrance (Professor of Systematic Theology – University of St Andrews)
• Christos Yannaras (Emeritus Professor of Philosophy – Panteion University, Athens)
• Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon (Academy of Athens)

Organised by:

Dr Sotiris Mitralexis (Freie Universität Berlin)
Andrew TJ Kaethler (University of St Andrews)

http://ontologyandhistory.wix.com/delphi

CALL FOR PAPERS

We welcome short paper proposals (presentation duration: 20 minutes) on all areas addressed in the conference’s general description and/or in the thematic workshops’ abstracts. Prospective participants can EITHER submit an abstract for a short paper addressing a subject pertaining to the general theme of the conference for a non-thematic session OR submit an abstract for a short paper to be included in one of the following thematic workshops/panels. If your paper is aimed at a specific workshop, please do indicate the workshop’s title after your abstract. Each participant can present only one short paper, be it in a workshop panel or in a non-thematic panel.

All papers must be presented in English. Please send us the title and a short abstract of your paper (200-400 words) in English, along with a short CV, via e-mail to ontologyandhistory [.at.] gmail.com. The deadline for abstract submissions is Sunday, 15 February 2015. You will be informed concerning the acceptance of your paper on Wednesday, February 18 2015, and you will be asked to submit the registration fee via bank transfer or PayPal.

The full registration fee is 200€ and the student registration fee is 120€. Upon registering, please send us your (1) full name with title, (2) institutional affiliation, (3) e-mail, (4) cellphone number and (5) postal address to ontologyandhistory [.at.] gmail.com with the subject “Registration” by no later than Sunday, 22 February 2015. Subsequently, you will be provided with information concerning the bank transfer of the registration fee.

The registration fee covers registration, hotel accommodation in Delphi for two nights (29-31 May 2015), one dinner (29 May) and one lunch (30 May), bus transport to and from Athens, the coffee breaks throughout the conference, as well as conference material.

VENUE

The conference’s venue is the European Cultural Centre of Delphi in Delphi, Greece. Accommodation for 29-31 May 2015 is provided through the registration fee for participants, while a bus transfer from and to Athens will be made available.

http://ontologyandhistory.wix.com/delphi

ontologyandhistory [.at.] gmail.com

CALL FOR PAPERS AND BURSARIES

I am writing to call for paper proposals and bursary applications for the Society for the Study of Theology’s sixty-fourth annual conference. This year’s theme is ‘Thinking the Church today’ and the questions we shall be addressing will include:

• How should the excluded church be conceived relative to centres of institutional power?
• What is the meaning of the priesthood of all believers?
• How is the church incarnated culturally and socially?
• How are the visible and invisible churches mingled?
• What are the implications of the Second Vatican Council fifty years on?
• What place does ecumenism have in post-Christendom Europe?

Plenary speakers will include

• Lieven Boeve
• Christopher Cocksworth
• Trond Skard Dokka
• Mary McClintock Fulkerson
• Tom Greggs

We invite proposals for SHORT PAPERS on the conference theme to be delivered in a maximum of 20 minutes. To submit a proposal, visit www.theologysociety.org.uk/short.asp.

We also invite proposals for SEMINAR PAPERS on a range of ongoing topics also to be delivered in a maximum of 20 minutes. Seminars include: Christology and Trinity; Philosophy and Theology; Sacramentality, Liturgy and Theology; Theological Anthropology; Theological Ethics; Theology and Science; Theology and the Arts. To submit a proposal, visit www.theologysociety.org.uk/seminar.asp.

For the first time we invite proposals for POSTERS relating to the conference topic or other research. To submit a proposal, visit www.theologysociety.org.uk/poster.asp.

The Society is committed to increasing its own inclusivity and diversity and that of the theological academy. We welcome paper submissions which bring the conference theme into conversation with issues such as gender, sexuality, ability and disability, ethnicity and race. We also welcome submissions from postgraduate students, early career researchers, independent scholars, and those working outside the academy. For details of our new mentoring scheme, visit www.theologysociety.org.uk/mentor.asp.

Our Society operates a generous BURSARY FUND in order to make the conference as accessible as possible. Recipients of bursaries receive a credit note which can be offset against the cost of the conference fee, accommodation, and meals, but please note that no bursaries are available to offset the cost of conference travel. To apply, visit www.theologysociety.org.uk/bursary.asp. Donations to the fund are most welcome and may be made either when booking or by increasing your annual subscription.

The deadline for receipt of all paper proposals and bursary applications is 27th January.

Bookings for the conference will open in the second week of January and I shall write again then to confirm this. Until then, options and prices may be viewed online. In case your decision to attend the conference depends on acceptance of your paper proposal and/or bursary application, you will be notified of the outcome of these by 3rd February in order to be able to book online before the early booking rate closes on 19th February.

Please forward this message to anyone who might like to submit a paper proposal, such as colleagues, postgraduate students or anybody else with graduate-level interest in theology.

We look forward to receiving your proposal.

Yours sincerely,
David Grumett

Secretary
Society for the Study of Theology

Saturday, 16^th May 2015

The question of ethics has been central to philosophical and theological traditions throughout history, and as time moves forward, investigations into ethics in the context of the relationship between humanity and nature have become more complex, taking account of advancements in the natural sciences and a growing appreciation of nature. How are we to understand our relationship with nature, and how does this have implications for our understandings of ethics? The links between nature and ethics appears prominently in the Judeo-Christian tradition, for example: the symbolism of the tree of knowledge in Genesis may be interpreted as a realisation that there may be right and wrong way to toil the earth. Are we now realising the repercussions of our failure to take note of this forewarning in our experience of climate change?

In John’s prologue, the logos was in the beginning, which could suggest an abstract, objective moral code in nature. If so, how do we gain access to this code of ethics? Is it only accessible through revelation, as in some religious traditions, or is this code of ethics more generally accessible to humanity? Indeed, does such an abstract notion of ethics exist; could it be that ethics are a natural and subjective development? Is ethics a feature of nature, or have we invented it? This one-day conference seeks to explore these questions which emerge from considering the relationship between nature and ethics. This is not a conference engaged in considering normative ethical systems per se. Rather, it will take a broader approach exploring the nature (understood as essence or character) of ethics itself and whether nature (understood as natural world) has imbedded in it, a moral code.

Plenary Speakers:

• Prof. Robert Stern, University of Sheffield – ‘Løgstrup, Ethics, and the Sovereign Expressions of Life’
• Prof. Alison Stone, Lancaster University – ‘Hegel, Nature, and Ethics’
• Dr. Christopher Southgate, University of Exeter

CALL FOR PAPERS

We invite interested parties to submit abstracts of 250 words for 10-15 minute short papers on themes related to that of the conference, including but not limited to:

• Natural Law traditions and nature
• The universality of ethics
• Religious traditions and ethics
• The accessibility of ethics
• Naturalistic perspectives on ethics
• Secular and religious views on the nature of ethics
• The origins of ethics
• Thinking ethically about nature

Send abstracts to gary.keogh@manchester.ac.uk for review by 31^st January 2015.

Download a flyer for the event here [PDF].

9th January 2015

Speakers

• Irene Lancaster
• Andrew Brower Latz
• John Milbank
• Peter Osborne
• Marcus Pound
• Andrew Shanks
• Rowan Williams
• Further speakers TBC

Gillian Rose’s work spans Adorno, Hegel, sociology, philosophy, jurisprudence, post-structuralism, the Frankfurt School, Marxism, anthropology, literature, Jewish and Christian theology, death, Auschwitz, Feminism, and more. This conference brings together some of the foremost scholars on Rose’s work to discuss her continued relevance for social theory, politics, Marxism, theology, Hegel and Žižek, amongst other critical streams, twenty years after her untimely death.

CALL FOR PAPERS: If you wish to offer a paper on any aspect of Rose’s work please send an abstract to Andrew Brower Latz at andrew.brower-latz@durham.ac.uk

Venue: Durham Business School
10.00am—18.45pm
£50 (buffet and refreshments included)

Cheques should be made payable
‘Durham University, Centre for Catholic Studies’

Send to:

Dr Pound,
Dept. Theology and Religion,
Durham University,
Abbey House,
Palace Green,
Durham DH1 3RS
United Kingdom

There will be a meal afterwards (not included)

To register or to enquire about student concessions contact
andrew.brower-latz@durham.ac.uk;
or Tel: 0191 33 41656

www.centreforcatholicstudies.co.uk

Call for Papers

Logos 2015: Religious Experience

May 7–9, 2015 at the University of Notre Dame

Religious experience is central to religious faith and practice. It often serves as evidence for belief; it contributes to the development of doctrine; and it, or the desire for it, is often a major motivator for church attendance, meditation, commitment to spiritual disciplines, and other religious practices. Religious experience has received a great deal of attention within both philosophy and theology; but important questions remain unanswered. What is the nature of religious experience? What, exactly is (or should be) its relationship to religious belief and religious practice? If God exists and loves human beings, why aren’t vivid, unambiguous religious experiences more widely available? What can religious experiences tell us about the nature of God? Might religious experiences be the result, in part, of particular skills or virtues of the people who have them? The 2015 Logos Workshop will be devoted to addressing these and other philosophical and theological aspects of religious experience.

To have your paper considered for presentation at Logos 2015, please submit an abstract of the paper or the paper itself no later than October 15, 2014. Other things being equal, preference will be given to those who submit full papers by the deadline. We will let you know by December 1, 2014 whether your paper has been provisionally accepted. Full acceptance will be conditional on submission of the full reading version of the paper by April 1, 2015. It is expected that papers presented at the Logos workshop will be works in progress that can benefit from the group discussion. Consequently, we ask that authors not submit papers that will be published before the conference has ended.

Please send Abstracts or Full Papers to:analytictheology.logos@gmail.com

For more information, please visit: http://philreligion.nd.edu/calendar/annual-logos-workshop/

The Theology and Practice of Prayer in the Catholic Tradition
A Study Day for Clergy, Laity and Students of Theology
Saturday 15 March, 2014

Postgraduate Study Day: Catholicism and Critical Theory
Monday 28 April, 2014

All are welcome to attend. Details of both study days are below. Please advertise these events and pass on the details through your own networks.

14th-15th July 2014 – http://tillichoxford2014.wordpress.com

Paul Tillich features on anyone’s list of most significant and influential 20th Century theologians. In an age where it is tempting to retreat into intra-theological discussion or dismiss the secular world, Tillich’s vision for a theology which engages with culture and connects religious language with philosophical reflection continues to influence and provoke contemporary theological reflection.

This conference aims to stimulate and provide a platform for current work on Paul Tillich in anticipation of the commencement of the publication of the Collected Works in English from 2015, as well as providing space and time for scholars with an interest in Tillich’s work to meet, get to know each other, and discuss their work.

Call for Papers: Alongside keynote speakers (Reinhold Bernhardt, Marc Boss, Douglas Hedley, Anne-Marie Reijnen, and Christoph Schwöbel), we welcome the submission of abstracts for 20 minute papers which will provoke engagement with and discussion of Paul Tillich’s theology. For example:

• Explorations of aspects of Tillich’s theology
• Tillich’s intellectual development
• Tillich’s influence on other thinkers
• Applications of Tillich’s approach

Please send abstracts of between 300 – 500 words to samuel.shearn@theology.ox.ac.uk by Friday 14th February 2014, with a short biographical note.

This conference is sponsored by Ertegun House, St Benet’s Hall and the Oxford Centre for Theology and Modern European Thought, and convened by Werner G. Jeanrond (St. Benet’s Hall, Oxford), Russell Re Manning (Aberdeen) and Samuel Shearn (Ertegun House, Oxford).

For more information and to register for this conference, see: http://tillichoxford2014.wordpress.com

Download and distribute the Call for Papers here [PDF].

The Futures of Capitalism Conference

8th-9th April 2014

The University of Winchester

This conference is the culmination of a year-long series events, sponsored by Winchester Cathedral, Winchester Business Improvement District and the University of Winchester, in collaboration with the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life, University of Oxford.

The Futures of Capitalism conference is intended to contribute to the aims of this series of events, conceived in the wake of the Occupy protests, making a positive contribution to the national debate concerning the reform and renewal of the economy.

Keynote Speakers

• Professor Ken McPhail, La Trobe University
• Professor Michael Northcott, University of Edinburgh
• Right Reverend Dr. Peter Selby, St. Paul’s Institute, London
• Professor Richard Sennett, New York University & London School of Economics and Political Science
• Professor Rebecca Todd Peters, Elon University
• Professor Richard Werner, University of Southampton

We invite proposals from researchers and students in Theology, Religious Studies, Economics, Business, and other relevant disciplines, for 20-minute papers which critically examine ethical concerns related to global capitalism. Among other topics, we would welcome proposals addressing the sustainability or otherwise of current models of capitalism, and the responsibilities of financial institutions and other parties in fostering just and sustainable economic life. We encourage theological reflection on these themes, including discussion of the roles of churches, faith communities and ethical leadership in shaping forms of economic life that promote human flourishing and the common good.

Please e-mail a title, an abstract of no more than 300 words, and a brief biographical statement including any affiliation, by Friday 14th February 2014 to the conference organisers: Professor Neil Messer (neil.messer@winchester.ac.uk), Professor Alan Murray (alan.murray@winchester.ac.uk), or the conference administrator Dr. Rohan Brown (rohan.brown@winchester.ac.uk)

For information please visit these websites:

• futuresofcapitalism.com
• winchester.ac.uk
• winchester-cathedral.org.uk

Download CFP poster here.