Devotion, Gender and the Body in the Religious Cultures of Europe 1100-1800: PATS and Symposium – Call For Applications

Religious History Association
“Devotion, Gender and the Body in the Religious Cultures of Europe 1100-1800”

A Postgraduate Advanced Training Seminar (PATS) and Symposium

  • Friday 18 August 2017 at Monash University (Clayton Campus): 11am-5pm
  • Saturday 19 August 2017 at Pilgrim Theological College, College Crescent, Parkville: 9:30am-4:30pm

The Religious History Association is keen to promote the study of religious history across a wide range of chronological periods and religious traditions. To this end, it is hosting a postgraduate advanced training seminar (PATS) and symposium, held on Friday 18 August under the auspices of the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Monash University, at its Clayton Campus, and on Saturday 19 August at Pilgrim Theological College (part of the University of Divinity), College Crescent, Parkville.

Religious devotion has always been profoundly shaped by broader assumptions in society about gender and the body, involving access to the divine through the senses, the emotions and materiality. While the practice of theology and preaching has often been perceived as an exercise dominated by men, devotional practices have often been pursued by both men and women, providing a possibility to examine the impact of both gender and materiality in shaping religious culture. In many different religious traditions, the body provides a frequently contested site for competing ideas about gender and sexuality to be considered as well as ideals of religious devotion. This PATS and symposium provides an opportunity for postgraduates and early career researchers to share their research in any aspect of religious history in the medieval, early modern or modern periods, that touches on devotion, gender and the body, whether in Jewish, Christian or Islamic contexts between the medieval and modern periods.

The PATS (which begins with a presentation by Prof Clare Waters on Friday at 11.00 am-12.00 noon) will provide an opportunity in the afternoon for student focused workshop sessions, where graduates can discuss their research with established scholars. On the Saturday, there will be speaker presentations and round table discussion about the theme of devotion, gender and the body in the medieval and early modern periods.

Invited Speakers

  • Dr Lisa Beaven (Centre for the History of the Emotions, University of Melbourne)
  • Assoc. Professor Erin Griffey (Dept of Art History, University of Auckland)
  • Dr Claire Walker (Dept of History, University of Adelaide)
  • Prof. Claire Waters (Dept of English, University of California at Davis)
  • Prof. Constant Mews (Centre for Religious Studies, Monash University)

Submissions

Interested postgraduate students are invited to apply for a place at the PATS by end of Wednesday 7 June 2017, addressed to The Secretary, Religious History Association, katharine.massam@ctm.uca.edu.au.

  1. Name, affiliation, research degree and title of research project
  2. A statement (up to 500 words) detailing the benefit of the PATS to your research
  3. One academic reference, normally from your research supervisor. This can be brief (up to 500 words), and should be included in your application.

The PATS is intended primarily for postgraduate students, but applications from early career researchers (within two years of completion of a doctoral degree) will also be considered.

A limited number of bursaries are available from the Religious History Association to postgraduates wishing to participate in this PATS and symposium, to assist in covering travel and overnight accommodation costs. See: http://ctm.uca.edu.au/support-services/accommodation.

Applications for these bursaries can be submitted with your application for the PATS, and should include a copy of a quotation for travel to and from the PATS, and for accommodation expenses.

Professor Constant Mews, President, Religious History Association: Constant.Mews@monash.edu