31 May 2024
Call for Papers for Panels at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, Boston (March 20-22, 2025). Paper Speaks (?) Unveiling Religious Conforming and Nonconforming Voices in Early Modern Archives.
EMoDiR is an international research group focusing on the history of religious dissent, radicalism, and minorities in early modern times (). Since 2011, the group has organized panels at the RSA annual conferences on practices and conceptual frameworks of religious conflict, heresy, and groups of radical dissent. The panels are characterized by a multiplicity of methodological and theoretical approaches.
For the upcoming RSA Annual Meeting in Boston, scheduled for March 20-22, 2025, EMoDiR is inviting contributions for a series of panels focusing on defining orthodoxy and exploring religious dissent(s) and nonconformity. This inquiry will center on the analytical and critical examination of archival documents and collections.
Despite their biased, selective, and often fragmentary nature, archival sources are vital in reconstructing the definition of orthodoxy, uncovering the forms and practices of dissent, unveiling the blurred boundaries between orthodoxy and nonconformity, and understanding the normative and judicial measures applied to nonconforming individuals and groups. These documents offer crucial insights into the historical complexities of religious adherence and resistance, contributing to a deeper understanding of the nuances of early modern societies.
The planned series of panels is designed to broaden current academic discussions by promoting a global reevaluation of these aspects, with a special focus on archival sources and overcoming their inherent limitations. Papers exploring these aspects within Christianity (in all its denominations), Judaism, Islam, as well as other cultural and religious contexts are welcome.
We particularly encourage papers based on archival materials addressing:
➢ official regulations and orders issued by religious and secular authorities;
➢ congregations, court proceedings, Inquisition(s) trials, and other legal documents related to strategies of oppression, reclusion, censorship, and punishment of religious crimes;
➢ the fluid lines between orthodoxy and nonconformity, revealing evidence of compromise, negotiations, borderline scenarios, and ambiguous identities;
➢ the communication channels, social networks, and interactions among religious dissenters, as well as between dissenters and orthodox individuals, emphasizing the blurred boundaries between these groups in early modern everyday life;
➢ the reception, impact, and censorship of forbidden works and their translations;
➢ the role of gender and sex in the definition of heresy and religious nonconformity;
➢ interfaith encounters, dialogues, polemics, and conflicts;
➢ digital archives dealing with any of the sources above.
Proposals should be submitted by July 14, 2024, by email to Matteo Al Kalak and Martina Mampieri with full name, current affiliation, and email address; a paper title (15 words maximum), an abstract (150 words maximum), keywords, Ph.D. completion date, and a brief biographical profile (150 words maximum). Inquiries about the content of the CFP can be directed to the same email addresses.
