Call for Papers: “Religions and Medicine. From Antiquity to Contemporary Age” (Rome, June 5-9)

Museo delle Religioni “Raffaele Pettazzoni”

Religions and Medicine
From Antiquity to Contemporary Age
June 5-6-7-8-9, 2018
Velletri (Rome)

Call for Papers

In the contemporary Western world, medicine constitutes a specific branch of knowledge, with its own characteristics and methods of cure and research, and it’s tendentially autonomous, not linked with religious or folklore beliefs, even though there are still some contacts, reciprocal influences and conflicts. In the past, however, these spheres were more reciprocally interconnected than it appears to us nowadays. The conference aims to investigate this interconnection in a multi-disciplinary perspective, as regards both medical procedures and the definition of human body.

In particular, the speakers may develop in their papers the following points:

1. The formation of the concept of “medical science” as a specific and
     autonomous field compared to traditional and religious knowledge.
2. The dialectics between medical practice and religious beliefs in relation to:
    a) the conception of human body;
    b) the definition of “illness”;
    c) healing activities;
    d) the definition of the characteristics of a “healer”;
    e) the definition of the characteristics of a “healing site”.
3. The history of studies on the matter.

The conference is articulated into five research areas:

1. Egypt and Ancient Near East (coordinator: Maria Erica
    Couto-Ferreira – University of Heidelberg)
2. Classical Antiquity (coordinator: Claudia Santi – Università della
    Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”)
3. Middle Ages (coordinator: Lidia Capo – Sapienza Università di Roma)
4. Modern Era (coordinator: Marina Caffiero – Sapienza Università di Roma)
5. Contemporary Era (coordinator: Emanuela Claudia Del Re – National
    coordinator of the Sociology of Religion Section of the Italian
    Sociology Association)

Administration: Igor Baglioni (Museo delle Religioni “Raffaele Pettazzoni”)

The scholars who would like to contribute may send a one-page abstract (max 2.000 characters) to Igor Baglioni (igorbaglioni79@gmail.com) by April 1, 2018.
Attached to the abstract should be: the title of the paper; the chosen area; a short biography of the authors; email address and phone number.
Papers may be written and presented in English, French, Italian and Spanish. The acceptance of papers will be communicated (by email) only to the selected contributors by 2018, April 10.
Please send the complete paper by email not later than May 25. The
delivery of the paper is required to participate in the conference.

Important deadlines:
Closing of call for papers: April 1st, 2018.
Notification about acceptance: April 10th, 2018.
Delivery of paper: May 25th, 2018.
Conference: June 5-6-7-8-9th, 2018

There is no attendance fee. The participants who don’t live in Rome or surroundings will be accommodated in hotels and bed-and-breakfasts which have an agreement with the Museo delle Religioni “Raffaele Pettazzoni” to offer discounted prices.
Papers may be published on Religio. Collana di Studi del Museo delle Religioni “Raffaele Pettazzoni” (Edizioni Quasar), and in specialized journals. All the papers will be peer-reviewed. The conference will be associated with the cultural event “Vento d’Estate ai Castelli Romani” organized by Consorzio SBCR – Sistema Biblioteche dei Castelli Romani and by Fondazione Cultura Castelli Romani.
The conference participants will be invited each evening by a different town in the Castelli Romani area and will be offered the opportunity to visit the town, taste local food, see shows, and participate for free in guided tours to local museums and monuments. The excursion programme will be presented at the same time as the
conference programme.