This is a past event
Call for Papers - Deadline 31 July 2018
The Centre for Early Modern Studies and the Special Collection Archives at the University of Aberdeen, in cooperation with the Newberry Library's Center for Renaissance Studies in Chicago, are inviting papers on the theme of "Reading the Ministry, 1520-1848".
Reading the Ministry, 1520-1848
Call for Papers
In 2017, the University of Aberdeen became the custodian of the Chapeltown of Glenlivet Library. This collection was once the working library of the ‘Hidden Seminary’ at Scalan in the Scottish Highlands. Founded in 1716, the seminary at Scalan educated more than 100 priests for the Scottish mission before its relocation in 1799. The library was only re-discovered in the late 1970s in the rectory at Glenlivet, near the site of the original college. Its several hundred volumes provide a rare insight into Catholic clerical education in 18th century Scotland. They also represent in themselves a fascinating and somewhat eclectic collection of printed matter sourced from across the print-centres of Europe, comprising classical and humanist works as well theological volumes and promise to be a valuable resource for study.
To mark its loan by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen, the Centre for Early Modern Studies and the Catholic Memory Project, both at the University of Aberdeen, will join the Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library of Chicago in hosting a two-part conference on the theme of ‘Reading the Ministry’, the first of which will be held in Aberdeen on 29 November to 1 December 2018, and the second at the Newberry in October 2019. It seeks to examine how priests and ministers were trained, what they read, and how those books were selected, acquired, and consumed. Topics might include the content of seminary or clerical libraries, marginalia, archival memory, university or seminary curricula, the production and role of the sermon in the liturgy, the book exchange within intellectual and religious networks, material texts or the international book trade. The conference is not limited to the Roman Catholic ministry. Comparisons to the Scottish Episcopal and Presbyterian churches will be an important element of this conference, to tease out different approaches to the role and function of texts, libraries and archives for the ministry from the mid-sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Examples and case studies from beyond th British Isles are also of interest. Particularly welcome are proposals, for either papers or panels, from early career scholars and postdoctoral students, and some support may be available to support their travel. Please send proposals, of approximately 250 words, to cems@abdn.ac.uk by 31 July 2018.
- Speaker
- Dr Scott Spurlock, Dr Colin Barr, Dr Hannah Thomas
- Hosted by
- Centre for Early Modern Studies, University of Aberdeen in cooperation with the Center for Renaissance Studies, Newberry Library, Chicago
- Venue
- The Sir Duncan Rice Library
- Contact
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Prof. Karin Friedrich, Dr Andrew Gordon, Dr Colin Barr