(Please note that the call for papers is now CLOSED)
“Celebrating the Heritage, Facing the Challenges, and Embracing the Future”
Craig Bartholomew
Kirby Laing Center for Public Theology, Cambridge (UK)
René van Woudenberg
Faculty of Humanities, Department of Philosophy, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (NL)
Dolores G. Morris
Department of Philosophy, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida (USA)
This Call for Papers is organized against the backdrop of tectonic shifts in world-wide Christianity. Churches and related institutions in the global South are thriving and seeing unprecedented growth while in the Western world numbers of active church members are in decline and Christian organizations see themselves confronted with the eroding effects of secularization. These shifts have impacted on strands of Christian thought that are known as Reformational Philosophy or Philosophy in the Reformed Tradition, with Herman Dooyeweerd and Dirk H.Th. Vollenhoven as the well-known initiators. Some of the traditional strongholds of this philosophical tradition have lost their position in academia. At the same time, new, sometimes private initiatives were taken in the past decades, offering platforms for discussion and opportunities for funding, training, and scholarship. Many of these initiatives were successful in terms of academic standing and public outreach. In the meantime, even more students and young scholars in the global South are standing up and long for a fresh and deeper understanding of the reformed tradition and its meaning for philosophy, theology, and other disciplines.
The Association for Reformational Philosophy, the All of Life Redeemed (AoLR) platform, and the Abraham Kuyper Center organize an international conference,which has the aim to make the rich resources of the Reformational movement more widely available, especially for the new audiences in the global South. We also aim at creating a context for dialogue between Reformational philosophers and representatives of other streams of thought within the broader Christian tradition.
More specifically, we want to:
(1) exhibit what a century of philosophical thinking in the Reformed tradition has delivered, especially with respect to the challenges of our age (for instance: sustainability; ethics of technology; food production and consumption; professionalism and vocation; international relations)
(2) identify and explore new ways to address the unresolved issues
(3) encourage young students, scholars and professionals to engage with philosophical thinking in the Reformed tradition
(4) offer a platform for students, young scholars and professionals (especially in the South) to present their initial steps in the field.
This Call for Papers invites junior and senior scholars to submit papers on all topics and fields that are currently pursued within or in relation to the reformational/reformed tradition, including but not limited to the (philosophy of the) physical and social sciences, the applied sciences (engineering, medicine, technology), the humanities, ethics, law, and theology.
The All of Life Redeemed (AoLR) Junior Scholars Workshop
This conference also offers a venue for junior scholars to sharpen faithful academic craft through a dedicated workshop, in which senior scholars will dedicate time on the formers’ draft papers or works-in-progress to bring their academic work to a better (or publishable) shape.
Junior scholars are post-graduate students, PhD students, holders of a doctoral degree until five years after graduation, early career researchers or independents scholars, non-tenured academics, and young professionals.
The workshop celebrates the All of Life Redeemed website established by Dr. Steve Bishop (United Kingdom), which now marks its 16th year. The website has come to serve as the most comprehensive online and open-source repository of the works of scholars, thinkers, and practitioners of reformational philosophy from various parts of the world.
Junior scholars (as defined in this Call for Papers) who wish to be considered for the AOLR junior scholars workshop should clearly indicate in their abstract submission subject heading thus: “Abstract submission for the AOLR Junior Scholars Workshop.”
Submission of (all) abstracts (max 500 words): 1 November 2021 (extended deadline!). Submissions should include a brief bio (200 words) and a picture of yourself. Please submit this via email to: rpc2021@reformationalphilosophy.org. We now accept abstracts on a rolling basis, until 1 November 2021. We will notify you about acceptance within 2 weeks after submission.
Notification of acceptance of abstracts for both senior and junior scholars: 9 November 2021.
Only for junior scholars: you are asked to submit a full paper (deadline 24 November 2021) (max. 3000 words). These papers will be reviewed and commented upon by senior scholars in the AoLR junior scholars workshop, after your brief presentation. The Academic Committee of the Conference reserves the right to assign submissions for this Junior Scholars Workshop to the parallel panels for senior or established scholars, where appropriate.
Deadline for registration: 1 December 2021 (please note that the earlier you register, the more chance you have the session will be scheduled in a timezone that suits you). Junior and senior scholars whose proposed abstracts/papers were not accepted for presentation in the workshop/parallel panels will nevertheless be automatically registered for the conference.
Fee: There is no registration fee.
Proceedings: There will be no proceedings, but promising papers will be invited for publication in Philosophia Reformata or Findings, the new online journal established by the AoLR international Seminars Series. Abstracts will be made available. All full papers presented during the conference will be made available for registered participants (with permission of the authors).
Contact: rpc2021@reformationalphilosophy.org
Website: www.reformationalphilosophy.org/rpc2021
Organizing committee: Christine Boshuijzen-van Burken, Chair (Australia), Romel Bagares (Philippines), Lay Hendra Wijaya (Indonesia), Gerrit Glas (Netherlands)