Appel à communication : « Faith, Politics, and the Arts » (Marburg, 9-11 Mars 2015)

Faith, Politics, and the Arts (Marburg, 9-11 Mar 15)

Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany, March 9 – 11, 2015
Deadline: May 22, 2014

Call for papers

Faith, Politics, and the Arts: Early Modern Transfers between Catholic and Protestant Cultures

The search for transcendental systems of belief that provide orientation in the confused realities of every-day life is an anthropological constant which characterizes contemporary multi-cultural communities just as much as the no less troubled societies of the past. Religion can
inform political decisions, sustain certain forms of government, underpin or destabilize the social order. The conference « Faith, Politics, and the Arts » will explore the role of the arts as a means for shaping and interpreting the interrelation of religion and politics. Conference papers are intended to focus on Catholic and Protestant cultures in the Early Modern period (1517- ca. 1800). Central questions to be addressed are: How did Catholic and Protestant cultures visualize the relationship between God, ruler and subjects // spiritual and temporal power? In what ways and to what ends did the art production of Protestant cultures appropriate and modify visual formulae developed for Catholic societies (and vice versa)? To what extent did such transfers
promote or undermine religious tolerance?

We invite proposals for papers from a wide range of disciplines engaging with the visual arts as well as architecture, drama, fashion, and material culture. Among others, topics may include: religious imagery in the palaces of political leaders; political elements in the pictorial
programme, design and layout of churches and chapels; prints commenting on religiously motivated conflicts; diplomatic gifts between Catholic and Protestant powers; images promoting religious tolerance; theatre productions touching on confessional issues; the staging of the
Eucharist and of religious processions; frontispieces to theological treatises; prints with satires on fashions associated with the « foreign » religion etc.

Abstracts may be submitted in German, English, Italian, and French. Please send an abstract for a 30-minute paper plus a short CV to PD Dr. Christina Strunck (

strunck@staff.uni-marburg.de) and Julia Bender-Helfenstein, M. A. (benderhelfenstein@googlemail.com) by May 22, 2014.