Conference on friendship in Rome (Santa Croce)

The people at the Ateneo Romano della Santa Croce have announced their 13th conference on philosophy:

THE NECESSITY OF FRIENDSHIP: “For no one would choose to live without friends” (Nicomachean Ethics VIII, 1)

Here’s the description from their web site:

The richness and power of the reflection on friendship in classical philosophy remains unparalleled in the history of philosophical thought. For Aristotle, friendship was “absolutely necessary”, to the point that “no one would choose to live without friends”; by contrast, in the postmodern age, there seems to be neither a satisfying praxis of friendship nor an equally deep philosophical reflection on it. Still, Aristotle’s legacy can be enriched by the profound modern achievements in the articulation of the being and the relations of the human subject. Indeed, thanks to the experience of everyday life as shaped over the course of modern times, friendship has come to the fore as something fundamental and decisive for personal growth; and its adaptability to highly diverse relational contexts and life-situations makes it a prime link in a multicultural and globalized society. The objective of this Conference is to seek to decipher, in a specifically philosophical way, the meaning of friendship within a fragmented society such as today’s, by bringing to light the ontology, anthropology, ethics and social theory that make this relationship a real possibility.

The Conference consists of eight presentations, leaving ample room for discussion and joint reflection in a roundtable setting at the conclusion of each day. It is hoped that these days can serve to initiate the formation of an international and interdisciplinary research network, involving experts in academic, cultural and educational fields, on the theme of “Relationships, Affections, and Reasons”.

You can find out more my going to the conference’s web site, here.

Vagantes 2005 conference at Notre Dame (Indiana, USA)

Vagantes 2005 (University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana March 3-5)

Vagantes is an interdisciplinary medieval graduate student conference. Papers will be presented on visual hermeneutics, the social implications of romance, ecclesiastical politics, the medieval Mediterranean, interfaith disputes, conversion, economics, and experimentation with literary genre conventions.

Paul Cobb, assistant professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, and Steven Justice, associate professor of English at University of California at Berkeley, will give keynote addresses.

In an attempt to accommodate a graduate student’s budget, there is no conference fee, three meals will be provided, and the closing banquet costs only $15. Local transportation and a limited amount of free housing will be available. Please see http://www.vagantes.org for more details.

Register at: http://www.vagantes.org.

Send questions to Miranda Wilcox: mwilcox@nd.edu.

Edith Stein Encounters Thomas Aquinas: Symposium at St. Mary's (Notre Dame)

If you’re in the South Bend, Indiana, area on February 19, you might want to swing by St. Mary’s College to attend a symposium on Edith Stein and Aquinas, featuring papers by Constance FitzGerald (“Edith Stein: Contemplative Scholar”) and Sarah Borden (“Edith Stein Encounters Thomas Aquinas”). More information can be found here.

Aquinas the Augustinian Conference at Ave Maria in Florida

Ave Maria University’s Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal, which is “a new academic institute created to foster the renewal of Catholic theology,” is hosting another conference, this one entitled “Aquinas the Augustinian Conference,” to be held in Naples, Florida, on February 3-5, 2005. From the web site:

The recent work of such thinkers as Alasdair MacIntyre and Servais Pinckaers OP has highlighted the Augustinian aspects of Aquinas’s philosophy/theology. It is thus a fruitful time to bring together a group of scholars to investigate in a systematic fashion the interplay between these two great theologians and the ways that retrieval of their thought in the modern context should proceed.

The list of speakers is as follows:

Conference Speakers:
Jean Bethke Elshtain, University of Chicago, Keynote Address
Michel Barnes, Marquette University
Johannes Brachtendorf, University of Tübingen
Stephen F. Brown, Boston College
Sarah Byers, University of Dallas
Michael Dauphinais, Ave Maria University
Barry David, Ave Maria University
Robert Dodaro, OSA, Augustinianum
Gilles Emery, OP, University of Fribourg
Harm Goris, Thomas Instituut of Utrecht
Wayne Hankey, Dalhousie University
Reinhard Hütter, Duke University
Mark Johnson, Marquette University
Matthew Lamb, Boston College and Ave Maria University
Matthew Levering, Ave Maria University
Jody Vaccaro Lewis, Dominican House of Studies
Guy Mansini, OSB, St. Meinrad’s Seminary
Bruce Marshall, Southern Methodist University
John O’Callaghan, University of Notre Dame
Thomas Osborne, University of St. Thomas (TX)
John Rist, University of Toronto
Tracey Rowland, John Paul II Institute (Melbourne)
Michael Sherwin, OP, University of Fribourg
Jeremy Wilkins, University of St. Thomas (TX)

See you there!

Conference: "Current Research on Thomas Aquinas" in Spain

A conference entitled “A Panorama of Current Research on Thomas Aquinas” will be held at the University of Navarre, Pamplona (Spain), on April 25-27, 2005. Here is the presentation from the web site (which is in both English and Spanish):

Thomas Aquinas is the most outstanding representative of the medieval synthesis of cultures that gave unity to Europe. Even after seven centuries, his doctrine continues to be a paradigm of universality, balance and integration.

The year 2005 will mark the 125th anniversary of the proclamation of Thomas Aquinas as the patron of academic centers. This year’s Navarre Philosophy Meetings, A Panorama of Current Research on Thomas Aquinas, will commemorate this anniversary by offering a global vision of contemporary Thomism. We wish to highlight the work of major centers of Thomistic study, focusing on their history, their present state and their ongoing projects. In addition, we will present sessions on current trends in interpretation, new critical editions of texts, and the application of new technologies to academic research.

Papers by: Fr. Abelardo Lobato OP, Prof. Dr. Enrique Martínez, Dr. David Berger, Fr. Leo Elders SVD, Prof. Dr. Enrique Alarcón, Prof. Dr. Ángel Luis González, Fr. Roberto Busa SJ, Prof. Dr. John F. Boyle, Fr. Adriano Oliva OP — a star-studed cast, no?