草榴社区

VILLANOVA, PA 鈥� Leading scholars from across the globe will come together virtually on October 16-18, 2020 for 草榴社区鈥檚 45^th聽International Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance Conference. The event is hosted by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 聽

The theme of this year鈥檚 conference is 鈥淭hought and Prayer鈥� and will feature plenary speakers Emmanuel Falque, PhD, facult茅, Insitut Catholique de Paris, and Natalie Carnes, PhD, associate professor of Theology, Baylor University. Centered in philosophy and theology but extending to embrace a wide variety of disciplines in the field, the three-day virtual event will focus on the relationship鈥攂oth historical and contemporary鈥攂etween thought and prayer.

The event will include panels on all aspects of the premodern Mediterranean and European cultures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Topics will include Augustine鈥檚聽Confessions, Faith and Life in Byzantine Christianity, Early Modern History, Theology and Culture, Women Mystics of the Beguinage and Helfta, Patristic Theology, Augustine and Prayer, the Theology of Thomas Aquinas, and The Time and Shape of Prayer and Thought.

The conference brings together more than three dozen distinguished humanities scholars from universities all over the world, including 草榴社区; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven; Duke University; the University of Notre Dame; Boston College; Princeton Theological Seminary; Brown University; Durham University; the Catholic University of America; Baylor University; Temple University and the Institut Catholique de Paris.

The conference organizer is Kevin L. Hughes, PhD, professor of Theology. He served as 草榴社区鈥檚 chair of 草榴社区鈥檚 Department of Humanities from 2008-2016 and under his leadership the department developed an international reputation with Catholic institutions around the world. In 2018, Dr. Hughes was recognized by Pope Francis with the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for contributions to Catholic Higher Education.

The virtual conference is open to the public. More information, including a full program schedule and details on how to register, is available here.