NABPR Region-at-Large Call for Papers

NABPR Region-at-Large Call for Papers 

2021 Meeting of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion Region-at-Large in conjunction with the 2021 College Theology Society Annual Convention, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama, June 3-5, 2021

The College Theology Society 2021 Convention Theme is “The Human in a Dehumanizing World: Re-Examining Theological Anthropology and Its Implications.” The general call for papers issued to College Theology Society members will include the following elaboration of the theme: 

There is abundant evidence that we live in a dehumanizing world: Colonialism. Inadequate access to healthcare. Exploitative capitalism. White supremacy. Cisnormativity. Xenophobia. Ecological devastation. Sexism. Political and ecclesial corruption. Disproportionate access to vital natural resources. Heteronormativity. Glorified individualism. The violence of war. The violence of our homes, our workplaces, and our church. Sexual assault. Sexual harassment. Sexual abuse. Mental health stigma. Sizeism. Ableism. The systemic neglect of the poor and other vulnerable populations. Now more than ever, we are inundated with local and international reminders of how these and other cultures and structures compromise the flourishing of human life. Recognizing these multiple and intersecting realities that belie the will of God, Christians are called to resist them in word and deed. As mediators between local realities and the Church Universal, theologians are positioned to offer a contribution to the response of the Christian community. Grounded in the fundamental affirmation of the goodness and dignity of human life, theologians are equipped to explore how Christian teachings and practices can inform and animate the struggle against these dehumanizing cultures and institutions. Theologians are likewise positioned to bring the complexities of injustice and the insights of interdisciplinary analysis to bear on Christianity, exposing inadequacies in and exhorting reforms to Christian thinking and living. The CTS 2021 convention invites papers that exemplify this critical and constructive work in all areas of theology, ethics, scripture, liturgy, spirituality, and pedagogy, among others. We seek papers from across the theological disciplines that address diverse contexts of dehumanization with an eye toward how we continue to seek greater understanding (fides quaerens intellectum) of the faith Christians profess. Together, we will explore (1) how the resources of the theological tradition can speak to modern contexts, (2) how ongoing developments in various sources of human knowledge and discovery can inform our theological understanding of the human person, and (3) how the classic loci of theological anthropology can be clarified and articulated for the contemporary world. 

The NABPR Region-at-Large section of CTS will convene several sessions during the CTS Annual Convention. In order to contribute to the exploration of the CTS convention theme, we encourage proposals of papers from the NABPR membership that address the following themes:

1. Baptist engagements with Pope Francis’s encyclical on human fraternity Fratelli Tutti (October 3, 2020; vatican.va)

2. Critical explorations of Baptist systematic/constructive expressions of theological anthropology in relation to the flourishing of life in a dehumanizing world

3. Baptist biblical scholarship, dehumanization, and the flourishing of life (i.e., how have Baptist biblical scholars helped and/or hindered Baptists in their readings of biblical visions for the flourishing of life in the context of a dehumanizing world?)

4. Baptist theological ethics and the flourishing of life in a dehumanizing world

5. Recovery of and conversation with Baptist thinkers who have been overlooked or marginalized who could offer constructive expressions about the human person and human flourishing (e.g. Prathia Hall, Anne Dutton, John Lewis, etc.)

6. Other proposals related to the conference’s general theme

Proposals should be 250-500 words in length and must include one’s name, email address, and current institutional affiliation and position.

Proposals should be submitted to conveners Steve Harmon ([email protected]) and Kate Hanch ([email protected]) no later than December 15, 2020 (please address submissions to both conveners).  Scholars will be notified of the status of their proposals by Sunday, January 20, 2021.

The full Call for Papers for the 2021 College Theology Society Annual Convention is available online: collegetheology.org