All scholars critically engaging with the complex life, diverse work, and mixed legacy of Bartolomé de Las Casas are invited to submit proposals for the Third International Conference on Bartolomé de Las Casas, to be held at Providence College from June 21–24, 2023. Confirmed speakers Mariano Delgado and Paola Uparela will present new research seeking to understand Las Casas as a transatlantic “reformer.”
Charles Taylor’s provocative study, A Secular Age, identifies Reform as a broad conviction “felt with increasing power during the Middle Ages and early modern period, that not just an élite, but as far as possible all the faithful live up to the demands of the Gospel” (104). In line with this theme, organizers welcome proposals that put Las Casas in conversation with broader trends in sixteenth-century European expansionism, reformations, Christian humanism, secularization, theology, print culture, and law. Engagements stemming from post-colonial theory, literary studies, philosophy, anthropology, and other critical disciplines are also welcome.
Importantly, this conference calls attention to Las Casas’s entrance into a self-consciously reforming Dominican Order, itself an expression of trends in the renewal of religious life. Participants will benefit from and contribute to the rich combination of unique research interests afforded by this interdisciplinary invitation to consider Las Casas as a reformer in his own right. Proposals (in English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish) of 250 to 500 words in length and a short bio of 250 words are due by February 1, 2023: sent to submissions@lascasianstudies.org with “Conference 2023” as the subject. The conference will be held in Spanish and English.
Accepted proposals will be invited to submit a written version of their presentations for consideration to be included in a projected third double-blind peer-reviewed collection. For up to date information, visit Lascasian Studies at Providence College.
The Third International Conference of Lascasian Studies will also provide the occasion for the official launching of the Society for Lascasian Studies and its Bulletin for Lascasian Studies. The conference will take place on the campus of Providence College in the picturesque city of Providence, Rhode Island. Limited opportunities for remote online presentations may be provided.
Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
Mariano Delgado, Professor of Church and Mission History, University of Freiburg, Switzerland
Paola Uparela, Assistant Professor Spanish & Portuguese Studies, University of Florida
Fr. David T. Orique, O.P., Ph.D. Professor, Director of Latin American and Latina/o Studies (LALS), Department of History, Providence College, 549 River Avenue, Providence, RI 02918
Rady Roldán-Figueroa, Th.D., Associate Professor of the History of Christianity; Director, Center for Latin American Studies, Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University, 745 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA, 02215
Andrew Wilson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Church History, Japan Lutheran College and Seminary, 3-10-20 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-0015, Japan