CFP EXTENDED Wonder and the Natural World
Type: Call for Papers
Date: March 1, 2016
Location: United States
Subject Fields: Environmental History / Studies,
History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, Religious Studies and Theology,
Humanities, Fine Arts
DEADLINE EXTENDED!! CSRES International Conference on “Wonder & the Natural
World,” June 20-23, 2016
Conference Information and Call for Papers: http://go.iu.edu/R9a
Visit the website of the Consortium for the Study of Religion, Ethics, and
Society: www.indiana.edu/~csres/home.php
Deadline for abstract submissions: Mar 1, 2016
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: DAVID ABRAM
Aristotle observed
that philosophy originates in wonder. Descartes considered wonder the first of
all the passions, a “sudden surprise of the soul” that moves the mind toward
understanding and away from ignorance. Others have considered wonder a
defective state, a stunned response that impedes the acquisition of knowledge.
Wonder is the province of the wide-eyed child in the woods, and the wild-eyed
scientist in the lab. Scientific wonder beckons us into mystery but may also
banish the mysterious and drain away its power. Wonder is prompted by the odd
and uncanny, the strange and novel, the transcendent and sublime, as well as
encounters with the monstrous and horrific. Its virtuous dimensions shade into
generosity, humility, and compassion, while its shadow side suggests the lure
of unwholesome enchantments and hubristic trespass. Wonder can engender moral
caution and respect for otherness, but it may also foster a will to mastery.
Wonder has variously been associated with, or dissociated from, curiosity, awe,
intimations of divinity, infinity, the miraculous or supernatural,
feelings of astonishment and puzzlement. Wonder has also played a crucial role
in the environmental movement since its inception.
We welcome paper
proposals that explore wonder or its cognate terms in relation to nature or the
natural, in all its forms.
This Call for Paper
Proposals for “Wonder and the Natural World” is the second phase of a two-year
thematic initiative sponsored by CSRES. The first phase was open to faculty at
all IU campuses and culminated in a daylong symposium in May 2015. The current
call for proposals is open to national/international scholars from a variety of
disciplines.
Established in
2013, the Indiana University Consortium for the Study of Religion,
Ethics, and Society (CSRES) is an interdisciplinary association of
scholars, academic programs, and research centers from the eight campuses of
Indiana University. Our mandate is to aid in the development of research and
scholarship to better understand religion, ethics, values, and spirituality in
society and to promote collaboration among constituents at IU and beyond. CSRES
utilizes and builds upon IU’s extensive strengths in religion and ethics to
advance research in key themes.
Contact Info: Lisa
Sideris, Associate
Professor, Indiana University; director IU Consortium for the Study of
Religion, Ethics, and Society.
Contact Email: lsideris@indiana.edu