The Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies Conference (PMR) at Villanova University
invites you to participate in its 47th International PMR Conference
October 21-23, 2022 at The Inn at Villanova
Deadline for submissions: June 30, 2022
**Please Note: Catherine Bodin and June-Ann Greeley are seeking a third or fourth paper to round out an Irish panel for this conference. The current papers are medieval but additional Irish-focused papers could fit any of the conference themes outlined below. Please contact Catherine Bodin with your proposal or submit directly to the conference webpage listed below.**
The PMR makes an OPEN CALL to scholars, institutions, and societies to propose Papers, Panels, or Sponsored Sessions in all areas and topics in late antiquity/patristics, Byzantine Studies, Medieval Studies, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, and Renaissance & Reformation Studies.
The PMR committee this year makes a special invitation to scholars from all disciplines in these fields to address our plenary theme: “Through the Cross.”
Featured speakers: Khaled Anatolios, University of Notre Dame, author of Deification through the Cross: An Eastern Christian Theology and Rachel J. D. Smith, Villanova University, author of Excessive Saints.
From the Dream of the Rood to Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo to Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece, the figure of the cross has stood at the center of reflection on the mystery of Christ, not only in theology, but in art, poetry, music, and devotional literature. The figure of the cross places the mysteries of suffering and death both at the center of Christian self-understanding and on the edges of ecstatic movements beyond the self into God. It is a sign of contradiction, and yet it calls the saints to imitation. The figure of the cross has both blessed the shields of crusaders and given Lady Julian comfort that “all shall be well.” It has been a mark of exclusion for Jews and Muslims, a bane to witches and heretics, but also a sign of tender love and holy mercy. This year’s PMR offers a special invitation for papers and panels that explore the figure of the cross, meditation on the Passion, conformity to Christ, and kindred topics in the ancient, medieval, and early modern cultures of Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean, from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
As is our custom, the call for papers will be open beyond our plenary theme, and scholars are encouraged to propose papers and panels on all aspects of the premodern Mediterranean and European cultures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Focusing papers on the figure of the cross and related themes is encouraged, but not required.
Deadline for submissions: June 30, 2022. Please use the online individual or panel abstract form here. Notice of acceptance will be made by July 31, 2022
PMR webpage: villanova.edu/pmr2022
Contact us: pmr.conference@villanova.edu | 610.519.4728