CFP, CONFERENCE ON “OCULARISM AND THE METAPHYSICS OF LIGHT”, LEUVEN

We would like to make you aware of a Call for Papers that has been issued by the University of Leuven, Belgium:

“I am very happy to announce the call for papers for an upcoming conference on Ocularism and the Metaphysics of Light. The conference will be held at the University of Leuven from 31 May to 3 June,  2017. 

Speakers include:

       Charles Stang (Harvard)

       Anthony Dupont (Leuven)

       Willemien Otten (Chicago)

       David Meconi (St Louis University)

       Gerald Boersma (St Bonaventure University)

       Anca Vasiliu (Sorbonne)

       Joris Geldhof (Leuven)

       Rob Faesen (Leuven)

       Matthew Drever (Tulsa)

Despite the prevalence of light imagery, to this point, no major work has dealt comprehensively with the metaphysics of light. Moreover, as far as we can tell, no major work has applied conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) to reading texts which deal with illumination or intellectual sight in antique sources. We believe that this approach can open a new direction in research.

Three particular (types of) research questions will guide this conference. We seek:

(1) to identify the presence of imagery of light and vision across various periods and genres;

(2) to specify the ways in which these themes are reformulated and articulated in different contexts; and

(3), to assess as best one can the significance of these images for the audiences in question, especially in terms of their inherently metaphorical character.

The Scientific Committee invite submissions of individual abstracts and panel sessions on any topic pertinent to the metaphysics of light and metaphorical notions of the senses in relation to knowledge. Submissions are welcome from a wide range of fields, including but not limited to: Philosophy; Theology; History; Literature; Classics; Biblical Studies; Liturgical Studies; and Art History.

The conference proceedings will be submitted as a collected volume to Mohr Siebeck’s series Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theologie. If you wish to submit a longer version of your essay for this volume, kindly indicate this in your abstract.

Kindly send an abstract of no more than 200 words and a brief CV/biography by 30 November 2016 to matthew.knotts@kuleuven.be. Acceptances will be notified by early 2017.”