Conferences & Events of Interest
Please find below a listing of upcoming conferences that may be of interest to ACHA members. These events are not sponsored or endorsed by the ACHA, but have been mentioned by members who have found them to be a good resource for their research and scholastic endeavors.
History of Religion Conference
March 30-31, 2012
Chestnut Hill, MA
From the conference organizers: The History Department of Boston College invites papers and panels for its Biennial Conference on the History of Religion to be held on March 30-31, 2012. In recent years, scholars have increasingly focused on the important roles that religious intuitions, beliefs, or practices have played in human history. They have also expressed concern that historical analyses done primarily through the lenses of race, class, and gender have neglected or at least deemphasized the religious influences on the lives of their subjects. Such scholars argue that to ignore how religion informed the lives of historical subjects is to fundamentally misinterpret the past. Religion, therefore, is one of a number of forces that interact, collide, and impel the historical experience. We will consider how religion complements race, class, and gender as a lens for historical analysis.
More information: bc.edu event Web site
Vatican II Reconsidered
May 31 – June 1, 2011
Walsh University, North Canton, Ohio
From the conference organizers: The goal for this conference is to create a conversation about Vatican II that will emphasize its call for the Church to engage the world in order to promote the unity and solidarity of all the people of God. Building on a central theme of the council, namely the call to respectful and loving dialogue, we want the conference to not only promote conversation within the Roman Catholic church about the legacy of the council but to use that opportunity to foster ecumenical discussion between the Roman Catholic church and those of other faiths. To this end, the conference will coordinate its efforts with the Walsh Institute for Jewish/Catholic Studies (under the guidance of Rabbi John Spitzer) to build a program of sessions, events, and a panel discussion dedicated to interfaith dialogue.
Speakers include: Peter Steinfels; The Most Reverend George V. Murry, S.J.; Ph.D., Michael James, Ph.D.
More information: walsh.edu event Web site
Vatican II: Teaching and Understanding the Council After 50 Years
September 20-22, 2012
University of St. Thomas
St. Paul, MN
From the conference organizers: “Vatican II: Teaching and Understanding the Council after 50 Years” has three interrelated objectives. First, it will examine the effects of Vatican II in shaping the methods and content of our work as educators and scholars. Second, it will consider how theological reflection on the experiences of teaching since the Council has shaped our understanding of the event itself. Third, it will look more broadly at the role of Catholic colleges and universities in educating students to be agents of the proper development of human culture for “the good of the community and of the whole society” (Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes §59; see also John Paul II, Ex Corde Ecclesiae §32).
Speakers include: Rev. John O’Malley, S.J., Ph.D., Professor of Theology, Georgetown University; Rev. Jan Michael Joncas, S.L.D., S.L.L., Associate Professor of Catholic Studies and Theology, University of St. Thomas; Sr. Maureen Sullivan, O.P., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theology, St. Anselm College; Sr. Katarina Schuth, O.S.F., Ph.D., Endowed Chair for the Social Scientific Study of Religion, University of St. Thomas.
More information: stthomas.edu event Web site
