Organised by Lieve Van Hoof (K.U.Leuven) and Peter Van Nuffelen (UGent)

On September 23rd – 24th 2010, the Universities of Ghent and Leuven (Belgium) will be hosting a joint two-day workshop under the title ‘A magic stronger than the governors’ power’. Literature and Society in the Fourth Century A.D. The aim of the workshop is to explore literature as a social phenomenon in the period from Constantine to Theodosius I.

Recent decades have seen a boom in studies on Late Antiquity. Hand in hand with this upsurge, texts by a variety of fourth-century authors have been made accessible through new editions and translations. Whilst these have led to stimulating analyses of extra-textual elements such as the educational system or religious history, no comprehensive study exists, as yet, of late antique literature as a social phenomenon. This workshop aims to open the path for such a study by bringing together specialists of both Greek and Latin as well as ‘pagan’ and Christian literature in order to study the social role and function of literature in the fourth century A.D.

Often the impression is created that literature lost much of the social relevance it had in the earlier Roman Empire. This impression is based on some statements of important late antique authors, who assume a society with huge cultural tensions – between Latin and Greek, between Roman law and Greek rhetoric, between Christianity and paganism, between the requirements of empire and devotion to the cities. Statements about the relationship between literature and society should, however, be read as rhetorical strategies which authors deploy in view of specific aims and contexts. It is this approach that lays at the core of this workshop: How do different fourth century authors present the relationship of literature and society? What are their aims and objectives in doing so? What strategies do they adopt in order to convince their readers and audiences? And which factors (audience, subject, genre, etc.) influence their practice?

Confirmed speakers include: S. Bradbury, P. Heather, G. Kelly, M. Ludlow, N. McLynn, P.-L. Malosse, S. Mratschek, and R. Rees.

We invite abstracts for 30 minute-papers on the following topics:

• the role of literary culture in defining the elite, in political promotions, in selecting members for the senate, …
• networking through literature: recommendation letters, dedications and prefaces, literary patronage
• chronological, geographical, and generic differences in the social status of literature
• the use of literature by Christian authors to acquire a prominent position in the church
• the rivalry for status between rhetoric and other disciplines such as philosophy, law, and medicine
• modern theories about the social status of culture; parallels with the perceived declining status of humanities today
• rhetoric/literary culture in epigraphy and law

Please send 500 word abstracts to peter.vannuffelen@ugent.be, before 30 June 2010.

Deadlines:
Submitted titles with abstracts: 31st March 2011
Submitted workshop titles: 31st May 2011

For more information, go to http://www.patristics.org.uk/

I started a blog and twitter about the 800 plus letters, using The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn, published by Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. The concept is simple: every day or so a twitter with a quote, linked to a blog which quotes the paragraph the quote can be found.

I wanted to read all of his letters and consider this project a good (and fun) way to keep me going. So, I started to read every single letter, and I’ll blog and twitter what catches my eyes. I hope it will deepen my understanding of Gregory the Great. And I also hope followers will be inspired by it. I do feel Gregory the Great still has something to say to us.”

link to twitter: http://twitter.com/Saint_Gregory
link to blog: http://letters-gregory-the-great.blogspot.com

Theologian dr Arnold Smeets

Centre of Patristics CPO, Utrecht, the Netherlands

One of the topics that has been raised most persistently and with greatest passion in recent years at both the general business meetings and the meetings of the Board of Directors of NAPS is the importance of our graduate student members and the need to support that constituency effectively.  Consequently, at the 2009 business meeting of our society, the membership approved a change in our By-laws allowing for an expansion from seven to eight in the number of Directors that may be elected to the Board:  this was done to pave the way for the creation of a student representative to the Board.  It should be said that nothing prevents student members also being elected to any of the four positions for Members-at-large, though this has to my knowledge never occurred in the relatively brief history of our society.  What is desired is to secure the voice of at least one student member on the Board every year by the addition of this new position.

The ad-hoc appointment of graduate students to the Board in 2008-09 and 2009-10 has already enriched our conversations and planning.  This was evidenced in the last Annual Meeting by the addition of a pre-conference publishing workshop and a graduate student breakfast hosted by present and former presidents of NAPS; this year we plan to continue the initiative with a pre-conference teaching workshop and another graduate student breakfast.  There are also further conversations underway regarding how we might best mentor and financially support graduate students who are submitting paper proposals for the annual meeting.  It is expected that a regular student voice on the Board will continue to contribute to shaping the direction of the society in a way that fosters further integration of graduate students into the life of the society and its Annual Meeting.

In order to make the appointment of a student member to the Board of Directors permanent, the Board has drafted an amendment to the NAPS Constitution that will be considered and voted upon at the NAPS business meeting on Friday, May 28, 2010. The NAPS Constitution requires that the society’s members be notified of any proposed amendments at least thirty days prior to any vote. We are therefore circulating this proposal in advance of the meeting; changes are marked in bold:

RESOLVED, the NAPS Board proposes amending the NAPS Constitution Article II, Section 3 to read,

“There shall be a Board of Directors composed of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary‑Treasurer and FIVE other members elected by the membership, ONE OF WHOM MUST BE A STUDENT. FOUR OF these latter FIVE members shall be elected for a two‑year term and shall not be eligible to succeed themselves immediately; THE STUDENT MEMBER SHALL BE ELECTED FOR A ONE-YEAR TERM. Division of service shall be determined by lot.  Editors of Society publications, appointed by the Board of Directors, shall be ex officio non‑voting members of the Board of Directors. It shall be the task of the Board of Directors to conduct the business of the Society in the period between Annual Meetings.”

RESOLVED, the NAPS Board proposes amending the NAPS By-Laws Article II, Section 3, Part D to read,

“The members shall elect four (4) additional directors for a term of two (2) years each AND ONE (1) STUDENT DIRECTOR FOR A TERM OF ONE (1) YEAR. THE TERMS OF THOSE DIRECTORS SERVING FOR TWO YEARS [in cases of enlargement of the Board of Directors, terms] shall be staggered so that half of the directors shall be elected in one year and the other half in the subsequent year.”

Gratefully yours,

Virginia Burrus
NAPS President, 2009-2010

Christian identity construction in the early imperial period is is a focus of this study.

-  The use of the Bible and biblical hermeneutics in CE III

-  Analysis of terms of the trinitarian theology in CE III

-  Analysis of images, comparisons, rhetorical figures in CE III

-  Influence of ancient philosophy on CE III

-  Comparisons of selected passages or themes with other works of Gregory

-  Comparisons with other thinkers of the 4th century (e.g. Basil of Caesarea, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzen

-   Philological commentaries on selected passages

-  Contributions on the textual transmission of CE III

-  Analysis of ancient translations of CE III (esp. Syriac)

-  Contextualising CE III within the entire “Eunomian Controversy.

Thus, scholars of all disciplines working on Gregory are invited to submit papers about the main subject of the Colloquium and questions related to it. Also junior scholars with a research focus on Gregory are encouraged to submit a proposal. Finally, also all current projects on Gregory of Nyssa (bibliographies, electronic tools, editions, translations, …) are invited to present their goals, strategies and preliminary results.

 Deadline for submitting paper proposals: June, 1

 The following languages are welcome: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish.

 Paper proposals should provide the following information:

- Name

- Current postal address and e-mail

- Institutional affiliation

- Preliminary title of the paper

- Short explanation (200-300 words): a summary of the content of the paper; why it is important; how it will mark progress in Gregory of Nyssa research; how the argumentation will proceed.

The Scientific Committee will take into consideration all paper proposals. If we get too many proposals, the final decision will be left to the Scientific Committee.

Contact Information:

Prof. Dr. Johan Leemans

Conference secretariat:

Dipl. Theol. Fabian Sieber / Carla Nicolaye, M.A.

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Faculty of Theology

Sint Michielsstraat 6 – bus 3101

B – 3000 Leuven

For all queries concerning registration, programme and conference arrangements:

Email: fabian.sieber@theo.kuleuven.be

Email: carla.nicolaye@theo.kuleuven.be

www:  http://theo.kuleuven.be/page/gregorius_nyssa_2010

Workshop on The Divine Omnipotence in Medieval European Thought
(http://issei2010.haifa.ac.il/Ivanovic)
Chair: Filip Ivanovic
One of the questions that presented itself with the rise and development of the Christian faith was the problem of divine omnipotence. By resolving the problem of divine power, it
became possible to explain many focal problemsof mankind and the world, including, for example, the problem of the existence of evil, or of suffering. Usually, the eleventh-century theologian Peter Damiani is pointed to as a pioneer and originator of the discussion of divine powers. St. Isidor Pelusiot’s considerations were developed five centuries before Damiani wrote his famous treatise De divina omnipotentia.

The debate in Scholasticism emerged as a long and lively discussion of different ways of defining the problem. The distinction of potentia absoluta and potentia ordinata contributed
greatly to debating the general question of divine omnipotence. However, although it was useful in the theological-philosophical sense, this distinction later on provoked political
solutions which sometimes served the interest of only one man (for example, the authority of the pope and the request of Henry VIII regarding the annulment of his marriage).
The aim of this workshop is to reconsider the attribute of the divine power as elaborated during the Middle Ages, in both Western and Byzantine cultural spheres, in theological,
philosophical, literary works (papers that deal with Byzantine tradition are particularly encouraged). Papers that point out the contemporary significance of the problem are
especially welcome.

The themes suitable for the workshop could include, but are not limited to, the following
questions:
1) The divine omnipotence in the West and in Byzantium
2) The anthropological issues – human will, divine will, the problem of will in Christ
3) The problem of evil in relation to the divine power
4) Political issues – popes, kings, emperors, State-Church
5) The creation – relationships creator-creature, divine nature-divine will
6) Ockham on divine omnipotence
7) Contingency of the world
8) The relationship between ancient religion/philosophy/literature and medieval
religion/philosophy/literature
9) Divine power in medieval and contemporary perspectives (for example traditional
theology vs. process theology)

Abstracts of ca. 300 words should be sent by e-mail to:
Filip Ivanovic filiwycat@yahoo.com

One of the most controversial characters in the history of philosophy and theology is beyond all doubt (Pseudo-) Dionysius the Areopagite. The only conclusion on which the modern scholarship agreed is that he was not the famous bishop of Athens, a pagan converted to Christianity by St. Paul.

The influence of Dionysian writings in the entire Middle Ages is astonishing, and he was considered as the highest authority, second only to Bible, since he was considered a contemporary of Apostles. Some of the main features of his doctrine, such as apophatic theology, deification, and hierarchies, greatly determined the ways of future Christian speculation.

His knowledge of the Christian tradition is proven by his good command of the notions of not only the theoretical foundations of Christianity, but also of the liturgical life and practical experience of the Church. On the other hand, the strong Neoplatonic character of his writings cannot be disregarded. Who was really Dionysius? Was he a Christian simply initiated into Neoplatonic doctrines, or was he a Neoplatonist whose intention was to cunningly introduce pagan elements into the Christian thought?
The aim of this panel is to reconsider the identity of Dionysius and his role in the formation of early Christianity. The main question would be whether he was a pagan philosopher or a Christian theologian. This question remains unresolved until today, and the panel would serve to allow participants to engage in an interaction of different opinions, which would hopefully shed some more light on the dark background of “divine Dionysius”.
Abstract for this session should be sent to the chair, Filip Ivanovic at filiwycat@yahoo.com, by 23rd February 2010.
For more information:
Website of the Conference is http://www.uam.es/otros/isns2010/Bienvenida.html
The information about panel discussion on Dionysius as well as other
sessions can be found at http://www.uam.es/otros/isns2010/Panels.html
The Call for Papers is found here http://www.uam.es/otros/isns2010/Papers.html

Dear ASCH members—

The annual Winter 2011 meeting of the American Society of Church History will be held in Boston from Thursday through Sunday, January 6-9, 2011, in conjunction with the American Historical Association. We invite ASCH members to submit proposals on any aspect of the history of Christianity and its interaction with culture, including individual papers, complete panels, and roundtable discussions. Sessions may include considerations of a major recent book, critical assessments of a distinguished career, pedagogical issues, and commemoration of important figures and events whose anniversaries fall in 2011. In addition to the usual categories relating to periods, geographical regions, and special topics, we encourage proposals that cut across categories. We welcome panels that exhibit diversity of gender, rank, and scholarly location.

Proposals for entire sessions are preferred, while proposals for individual papers are welcome.

The proposed use of computers, internet, or projectors in the session must be stated and rationalized in the proposal.

The deadline for proposals is March 15, 2010.

Paper proposals should consist of (1) an abstract of 200 words or less; (2) a short biographical paragraph on the applicant; and (3) a current mailing location, email address, and phone number. Session proposals should contain all of the above for each of the three presenters, as well as (1) the session title; (2) a brief description (200 words or less) outlining the theme of the session; and (3) biographical data for the chair and the respondent, if any (these can be the same person). Use of audiovisual equipment, which is limited to the conference hotel’s facilities, has become very expensive and will therefore be restricted to presentations for which it is indispensable.

Please send proposals, preferably by email, before March 15, 2010, to the program committee c/o bjnewman@northwestern.edu. Applicants will be notified when their materials are complete. The program committee reserves the right to reconfigure sessions as needed. All program participants are expected to register for the meeting and deliver their papers in person.

Barbara Newman, Northwestern University