Religion, Nature and Art

Start
2011-10-13
End
2011-10-14
Location
Vatican City State

Religion, Nature and Art

Sponsored and in Cooperation with the Vatican Museums

13-14 October 2011, Vatican Museums (Vatican City State)

This conference, jointly sponsored by the Ethnological Museum of the Vatican Museums, headed by prof. Nicola Mapelli, and the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, seeks to examine the complex intersections of religion, nature and art. Sessions will focus on broad cultural and geographic areas: “Asian Religions, Nature and Art,” “Renaissance Art, Religion and Nature,” “Indigenous Religions, Nature and Art,” “Spirituality-based Environmental Activism, Nature and Art”. Some general areas of presentation could include: art symbolizing religious aspects of nature, nature itself as religious art, nature-themed religious art, art that expresses religious-based resistance to environmental destruction.

The conference will also include two unique opportunities to view art in the Vatican Museums, and of course, to enjoy Rome, Italy's surrounding environment, with its own ancient treasures and historical legacies.

As part of the conference itself, at the Vatican Museums, we will visit the exhibit “Rituals of Life: the culture and spirituality of aboriginal Australians” with the curator, Professor Nicola Mapelli (conference co-director), and co-curator, Professor Katherine Aigner, and on the concluding night we will tour the Vatican Museums (one family member is invited to this tour as well). The two-day conference offers the opportunity, either preceding or following the conference, to collaborate with other scholars in this area or to engage in research (pre-arranged individually) at the Vatican. In addition each conference registrant will receive a copy of Katherine Aigner’s acclaimed documentary “Australian Atomic Confessions.” Confirmed speakers include Professors Bron Taylor, Kocku von Stuckrad, Laura Hobgood-Oster, Rick Stepp, Arnold Nesselrath, Nicolla Mapelli, and Katherine Aigner.

Proposals should be submitted to Nicola Mapelli, for review, with a copy to Katherine Aigner. Proposals should be no more than 250 words in length and should indicate directly how they relate to the theme.

Deadline for proposals is June 30, 2011.

Registration fees (all in US dollars): $160 for nonmembers, $125 for members of the ISSRNC, $50 for students and other scholars showing financial need.

Lodging in Roma is the responsibility of registrants, but information regarding very reasonable lodging (under 50 euro per night) will be forwarded to all registrants.

For more information contact fr. Mapelli or conference co-coordinator Laura Hobgood-Oster.

Online registration is now available.

For further information check the conference homepage at http://www.religionandnature.com/society/conferences.htm

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