Wednesday, March 14, 2012

CFP: Patristic Studies in the 21st Century: An International Conference to Mark the 50th Anniversary of AIEP/IAPS, Jerusalem, June 25-27, 2013


Source: bsana.

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of its inception, the International Association of Patristic Studies, in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Christianity in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, will convene an international conference in Jerusalem on June 25-27, 2013.  The theme of the conference will be the state of patristic studies in the twenty-first century, focusing on the implications of the various settings and interests of patristic studies for the future of the field.

Susan Ashbrook Harvey (Brown University) will deliver the opening plenary lecture and Jean-Noël Guinot (Sources Chrétiennes) will deliver the concluding plenary lecture.

The first day will be devoted to an overview of the current state of patristic studies around the world, with presentations from colleagues from Europe (Lorenzo Perrone, Università di Bologna), North America (Dennis Trout, University of Missouri), South America (Garcia Bazan, Universidad Argentina John F. Kennedy), Africa (Michel Libambu, Université catholique du Congo), Asia (Satoshi Toda, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo), and Australia (Bronwen Neil, Australian Catholic University). In addition, two former presidents of AIEP/IAPS, Adolf Martin Ritter (Ruprecht-Karls Universität) and Angelo di Berardino (Institutum Patristicum  Augustinianum), will speak on the origins and development of AIEP/IAPS.

The remainder of the conference will be given to six half-day sessions on particular themes (two sessions running concurrently). Each session will consist of a plenary lecture (40 minutes), four short presentations (20 minutes each), and a moderated discussion involving all participants (1 hour). The plenary lecture will give an overview of the theme. The short presentations will consider a specific instance of the theme. Younger scholars are especially encouraged to attend and contribute to the discussions. A limited number of scholarships will be offered to graduate students.

Conference Themes
The themes and plenary lecturers for the six half-day sessions are the following:
  • Aryeh Kofsky (Haifa University) Patristics and the confluence of Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures: what does patristics mean for scholars in communities with a combination of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim identities?
  • Columba Stewart (St. John's University) Patristics between Eastern and Western Christian traditions: what does patristics mean in the face of diverse receptions of patristic texts within and between Eastern and Western Christian traditions?
  • Christoph Markschies (Humboldt Universität) Patristics and theology: what can theology contribute to patristics today and what can patristics contribute to theology today? 
  • Mark Vessey (University of British Columbia) Patristics, literature, and histories of the book: what is the meaning for patristics of current thinking and research in literary history and book culture?
  • Robin Jensen (Vanderbilt University) Patristics and art: how can the study of aesthetics and early Christian art forms contribute to the study of patristics? 
  • Yoram Tsafrir (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Patristics and archaeology: what is the meaning for patristics of a broader understanding of ancient culture and Christianity arising from archaeological investigations?

Submission of Abstracts
We invite the submission of abstracts (approximately 150 words) for short presentations (20 minutes) which deal with a specific instance (a problem, a method, an interpretation, a technology, a trend, etc.) of any of the above themes. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is August 1, 2012.

Abstracts may be submitted electronically on the website of the Center for the Study of Christianity at http://csc.org.il/contactus/abstract.aspx.

Graduate students who submit an abstract should also submit a curriculum vitae and the name and email of their supervisor. A limited number of scholarships are available for graduate students. All graduate students will be considered for a scholarship.

Submissions will be acknowledged and colleagues will be informed of final decisions soon after October 1, 2012.

The proceedings of the conference will be published by Brepols. Participants who wish their papers to be considered for publication will be asked to submit their final manuscript by September 1, 2013.

Please address queries concerning registration and other practical matters to:

Please address queries concerning academic matters to:
Carol Harrison at Carol.Harrison@durham.ac.uk

Organizing Committee
Theodore de Bruyn
President, AIEP/IAPS
Carol Harrison
Vice-President, AIEP/IAPS
Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony
Director, Center for the Study of Christianity
Department of Comparative Religion
Hebrew University of Jerusalem