Harvard Divinity School Episcopal Chaplaincy Call for Papers

Contemplation in Action

The 3rd Annual New England Anglican Studies (NEAS) Conference
April 20, 2013
Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA
Keynote Speaker:
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold III
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, 1998-2006

Call for Papers
Due Date for Proposals Extended to January 31st, 2013

Contemporary Christianity has seen a resurgence of interest in contemplation: the retrieval of the rich resources of the pre-modern Christian contemplative traditions, as well as the exploration of contemplative practices in other religious traditions.  Together these trends enliven contemporary prayer and practice.  Common to all these efforts, however, is a conviction that contemplation is not a flight from the world and its many challenges, but rather a mode of delivering oneself and others into the world anew, renewed, and ever ready to face those very challenges.

This conference aims to investigate and deepen this conviction by asking what contemplation is, and how it acts, both on the practitioner and his or her world. What can contemplatives and activists learn from each other? Might contemplation be a form of activism?  Might the struggle for social justice be a form of contemplation?  What other forms of religious “action” might be shaped or driven by contemplation?

Given our investment in both the contemplative life and social activism, we Anglicans aim to convene this conversation and to ground it in our tradition, but also to widen it to include other voices and other traditions.  We invite theoretical and practical reflection on these themes, hoping not only to re-imagine contemplation and action, but also to redouble our commitment to them.

Again, the due date for proposals has been extended until January 31st, 2013. Paper proposals or questions should be directed to NewEnglandAnglicanStudies@gmail.com. All proposals should contain an abstract of no more than 300 words and an abbreviated CV.

Hosted by the HDS
Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship and the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard.