SOCIETY FOR REFORMATION STUDIES

15th ANNUAL CONFERENCE

(Re)defining 'Reformation'

 

Westminster College Cambridge, 26-28th March 2008

 

What was 'the Reformation'? Its meaning was once clear - the magisterial Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Over the years, it has broadened to include Catholic and radical movements, and stretched to accommodate both the late-medieval context and the confessionalisation process of the 17th century. This has provided a far better perspective in which to consider patterns of change, but arguably at the expense of clarity. Scholars increasingly use the plural 'Reformations,' the lower case 'reformation,' or the catch-all 'early-modern religions history'. Is the concept of 'Reformation' dissolving before our eyes, or is a new consensus on the point of emerging? This question is clearly a fundamental one for a Society for Reformation Studies.

 

We invite papers which bear on this theme. How did reformists and reformers understand their task? What did they mean by such terms as 'reformatio' and 'renovatio' in relation to moral regeneration, the rebirth of classical learning, the re-ordering of the church, and the rediscovery of the Gospel? What light do their opponents or other contemporary observers provide? How might modern definitions and terms be re-evaluated? Can discussions of the exceptional, the eccentric, and the marginal challenge or support the validity of historiographical generalisations?

 

Leading us in the consideration of these questions will be Professor Euan Cameron (Union Theological Seminary), Professor Peter Marhsall (University of Warwick), and Professor Dr. Guy Scheider-Ludorff (Augustana University, Neuendetteslau).

 

As always, papers which reflect the current work of participants, regardless of their relevance to the theme, are also very welcome.

 

We ask you to pay all conference and accommodation fees in advance. Conference fee: £30 (members) / £40 (non-members)/ £20 (graduate students). Download the conference form here and return it by 31st January.

 

Abstracts (c250 words) of proposed papers (25 minutes maximum) should be sent to Dr. Patrick Preston, PatrickAPreston@aol.com

 

 

For further information about this site please contact Nicholas Thompson at: n.j.thompson@abdn.ac.uk
Page last updated: 3 January 2007