COLLOQUIUM PLOTINUS 204/205-2005: University of Bucharest (November 12, 2005)

The University of Bucharest, Department of Philosophy, is holding a Colloquium on Plotinus on November 12, 2005. Here’s what they have to say:

Plotinus is generally recognized as the founder and the most important figure of neoplatonic current. The aim of this conference is to provide proves of the influence of his texts upon western philosophy. Papers may deal with long time discussed topics (such as, but not restricted to, plotinian metaphysics, the theory of the soul etc.), as well as new research interests (logic, philosophy of science or plotinian ethics). Historical-philosophical approach may be developed on a wide area of subjects from plotinian reconstruction of some platonic, aristotelian and stoic doctrines or the relation between Plotinus and accademic neoplatonism to the influence of the Enneads on some christian thinkers (St. Augustine, Boethius and Arab thinkers) or on some Renaissance and XVII-th century intellectuals.

Lecture titles of the keynote speakers will be announced at the end of September 2005.

Eligibility

Applicants should hold a PhD title or be in the final stage of completing a PhD program in a relevant research field.

Submissions

Only completed papers will be considered. Authors should observe very carefully the guidelines before submitting their texts. Papers must be accompanied by an abstract of 200 words and an academic curriculum vitae (with a list of publications).

All papers must be received via e-mail by October 3rd, 2005, 12.00. CET. Early submissions are encouraged. Applicants will learn of the status of their paper submissions only via e-mail by October 23rd, 2005. Please, send your papers to: plotinus2005 “@” gmail.com All correspondence should be addressed to Marin Balan or Cristian Ducu plotinus2005 “@” gmail.com

The web address for the this Colloquium is http://www.hybris.ro/plotinus/.

American Maritain Association Conference: "Philosophy and Vocation: Intellectual and Spiritual Conditions for Renewal"

The American Maritain Association will be holding its 2005 conference at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The conference opens on October 13 and concludes the morning of October 16. Additional information is available at www.jacquesmaritain.org. The conference program is not yet on-line, but you can learn about the conference by looking at the Association’s call for papers page.

Update on 2005-09-05 11:57 by Mark Johnson

Peter Pagan kindly sent me the program for the conference, which you can get by clicking here (PDF format). There is an MS Word/RTF version of the program on the website of the American Maritain Association. An extensive and interesting line-up of speakers and participants…

A conference in honor of Servais Pinckaers, OP: "Renew all things in Christ"

A conference will be held in Fribourg, Switzerland, October 28-30th, entitled “Renouveler toutes choses en Christ: Vers un renouveau thomiste de la théologie morale: hommage à Servais Pinckaers, O.P.” Michael Sherwin, OP, holder of the Chair of Moral Theology at the University of Fribourg, pointed me to the web page for the conference, which also has a nice, downloadable program (in PDF format). Scholars like Sherwin, Romanus Cessario, John Corbett, Angela McKay, Paul L. Gondreau, William Mattison, John Berkman, and Tobias Hoffmann, will be presenting, as will others.

Time to check my travel budget…

Hortulus: An On-Line Graduate Journal of Medieval Studies

Hortulus, is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, Web-based journal of medieval studies, founded and published annually by an international board of graduate students. It described itself thus:

Hortulus is a refereed journal devoted to the literatures and cultures of the medieval world. Electronically published once a year, its mission is to present a forum in which graduate students from around the globe may share their ideas.

In preparation of our second issue, we invite the submission of academic articles on the topic of Hybridity. The idea of hybridity is necessarily complex. Recent discussions have tended to address it in terms of identity and identity formation. However, it may be extended to consider many other areas. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Nationality and nationalism
• Culture, cultural motifs and cultural practices
• Religion and religious syncretism
• Language(s)
• The body
• Literary hybrid genres
• Identity
• Conversion
• Borrowed histories
• Gender play
• Translation

The journal also incorporates lighter fare such as interviews, opinion pieces, reviews and essays on diverse aspects of medievalia under the aegis of a section entitled Hortus Amoenus. We are particularly interested in reviews of historical novels and medieval-themed films, as well as reports on archaeological digs and museum exhibitions, but we are happy to receive any and all contributions relevant to medieval studies. Potential Hortus Amoenus authors should contact hortusamoenus@hortulus.net with a 250-word summary of their contribution before submitting a complete article.

For submission guidelines and more information, please read the Submission Guidelines and the Style Guide. Contributions should be sent electronically to: submit@hortulus.net. The deadline for submission is October 15, 2005.

All students currently pursuing graduate work in medieval studies or allied disciplines are eligible to submit papers and lighter contributions, as are alumni/ae of master?s and doctoral programs within one year of their graduation. Those who hold doctoral degrees are eligible only if not currently employed as professors.

The University of Toronto Colloquium in Mediaeval Philosophy 2005

The University of Toronto Colloquium in Mediaeval Philosophy for 2005 will take place from September 23-24, 2005, at the University of St Michael’s College. The colloquium is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, Department of Classics, and Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto; University of St. Michael’s College; Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Its organizers are: Deborah Black, Peter King, Martin Pickave. All sessions will be held in Alumni Hall, Room 400 (St. Michael’s College, 121 St. Joseph Street). The sessions are free and open to the public.

Friday, 23 September:

4:30 - 6:30 opening remarks

SESSION I: Chair, Jennifer Ashworth (University of Waterloo)

• Scott MacDonald (Cornell University): “Aquinas on Prudence: From Personal Virtue to Natural Law”
• Thomas Williams (University of Southern Florida), commentary

6:30 reception

Saturday, 24 September:

10:00 - 12:00

SESSION II: Chair, Robert Pasnau (University of Colorado, Boulder)

• Richard Cross (Oxford University): “Scotus on Substance and Identity”
• Timothy Noone (Catholic University of America), commentary

lunch break

2:30 - 4:30

SESSION III: Chair, Jack Zupko (Emory University)

• Claude Panaccio (Universite de Quebec a Montreal): “Ockham on Conceptual Similitudes”
• Gyula Klima (Fordham University), commentary

7:00 Conference Dinner (reservation required)

If you plan to attend please let us know: medieval.philosophy@utoronto.ca. Accomodations: The Quality Hotel Midtown (to be rebranded as the Holiday Inn Midtown) in Toronto, located next to the St. George campus, is offering rooms at a reduced rate for the conference if you reserve before August 23rd: call (416)-968-0010, and use the Group ID #102835 or the Group name “Toronto Colloquium in Mediaeval Philosophy”.

3rd annual Midwestern Conference in Medieval Philosophy (Marquette University)

The Third Annual Midwestern Conference in Medieval Philosophy will be held at the Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 16-17 September 2005. The conference is intended to provide a formal occasion and central location for philosophers and scholars of the Midwest region (and elsewhere!) to present and discuss their current work in medieval philosophy. Plans are for 9-10 sessions with 75 minutes allotted for presentation and discussion. If you wish to present, please send a title of the proposed paper to Richard Taylor at richard.taylor@marquette.edu. Conference sessions will take place in the Raynor Library Friday and Saturday 16-17 September, 2005.

Arrangements have been made for a block of 12 reserved rooms just a few blocks down the avenue from Marquette University at:

The Holiday Inn Milwaukee City Center
611 West Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53203. Tel. 1-414-273-2950
Rate: $89/nt. single or double

Reservation deadline: August 15, 2005

Conference Website: http://homepage.mac.com/mistertea/Personal32.html.

Colloquium on Aquinas and the theology of religions (Institut Saint-Thomas d’Aquin: Toulouse, France)

Saint Thomas d’Aquin et la théologie des religions

Colloque, les 13 et 14 mai 2005 à l’Institut catholique de Toulouse

Sous la présidence de M^gr Émile Marcus (archevêque de Toulouse)

Organisé par la Revue thomiste / Institut Saint-Thomas d’Aquin

La théologie des religions, c’est-à-dire l’intelligence dans la foi du rôle des religions non chrétiennes dans le dessein de Dieu, est reconnue comme un défi majeur pour la théologie chrétienne du xxi ^e siècle. Elle est rendue urgente par l’expérience désormais quotidienne que les chrétiens font de la pluralité des religions. Elle engage les thèmes les plus décisifs de la foi et de la théologie : le salut, l’unicité de la médiation du Christ, le rôle de l’ é glise… La tradition thomiste peut-elle apporter quelque lumière dans ce débat? Pour y répondre, l’Institut Saint-Thomas d’Aquin de Toulouse et la Revue thomiste organisent un colloque qui interrogera tout d’abord saint Thomas lui-même. Quels sont les grands principes de sa théologie susceptibles de fonder une théologie des religions ? Qu’en est-il, dans l’œuvre de saint Thomas, de la question plus précise du statut religieux des non-chrétiens, avant comme après la venue du Christ ?

A sa suite, la tradition thomiste, ancienne ou plus récente, n’a cessé d’actualiser cette réflexion. Aujourd’hui encore, à la lumière des principes de saint Thomas, ce colloque tentera de proposer quelques orientations pour une théologie, ouverte et critique, des religions non chrétiennes.

L’ensemble des conférences et débats se déroulera à l’Institut catholique de Toulouse (31 rue de la Fonderie, 31068 Toulouse).

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?