medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Conference on Geography and Saints' Cults
Contributions are solicited for a conference on "Geography and Saints´ Cults" which will be held at the Agricultural College of Hólar June 21-26, 2006.
The language of the conference is English
While one strand of the conference will be devoted to the use of databases, GIS, and other electronic aids to analyzing the geographical development of the cult of saints, non-technological papers will also be welcome. The concept "saint" is conceived in the widest possible terms; studies concerning holy men and women from non-Christian traditions, holy wells or other sacred sites, and pre-Christian deities, would be of interest, as long as they have a significant geographical component.
The conference will include presentation and discussion of technological aids to the geographical study of saints' cults and discussion of pre-circulated papers.
Since we hope to both apply for grants to support the conference and publish select papers shortly after it, we request contributions that reflect research that will be ready to publish by spring of 2006. Such papers will receive precedence for inclusion in the conference program. Contributors who would wish to apply for financial support and publish their work should adhere to the following deadlines:
As soon as possible: send an email to the organizer, Margaret Cormack, at [log in to unmask] stating your interest and possible title.
Sept. 30: Submit an abstract of 600-1000 words which addresses:
- the primary sources on which your research is based,
- any prior research that has been done using these sources,
- whether your own research represents the first analysis of saints' cults based on these sources,
- if prior research exists, how your research interacts with it, and whether your conclusions confirm or contradict the results of others
- the abstract should include a brief bibliography.
Please note: those working on databases, spreadsheets, and the like as analytic tools, will have an opportunity to demonstrate these at the conference. However, mere descriptions of the use and possibilities of such tools will not be considered publishable papers; papers should contain results that have been obtained using the tools in question. This might be a preliminary survey of the evidence they provide for the cult of saints in a given area, an analysis of the possibilities and limitations of different types of primary source, evidence showing how this material reinforces or (better yet!) overthrows previous conceptions. Advocates of technology need to be able to provide case studies, not just general assertions of usefulness. That said, members of the conference will of course be extremely interested in discussing the varieties of electronic tools which, it is hoped, will be presented.
Feb 1: Submit your COMPLETED paper to Margaret Cormack. This will give her a chance to go over it, make suggestions, etc. For those whose native language is not English, she will edit the material for style and language.
These papers will be treated as under copyright, and distributed to conference participants only at a date which will enable participants to read them before arriving in Iceland. At the conference itself, it will be assumed that participants have read these papers. Presenters will summarize them briefly (no more than 15 minutes) and there will be c. half an hour for discussion of each paper.
Please note that acceptance in the initial conference program does not guarantee either financial support or eventual publication.
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