University Will Host First International Symposium on Jesuit Studies in June

Sponsored by the University’s Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, “Exploring Jesuit Distinctiveness,” which is free and open to the public, will focus on the quidditas Jesuitica – “the specifically Jesuit way of proceeding in which Jesuits and their colleagues operated from historical, geographical, social, and cultural perspectives,” according to organizers.

Through the symposium, the institute seeks to establish a “platform for academic exchange” that will enable scholars to cross thematic and chronological boundaries and reflect the vast interdisciplinary scope of Jesuit studies, which includes art history, theology, international law, science and other fields as well as historical periods such as the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

The conference will feature keynote speeches by Georgetown University Professor of Theology John O’Malley, SJ, who was co-editor of an award-winning volume of essays inspired by a BC conference on early Jesuit missionaries; Yasmin Haskell, who holds the Cassamarca Foundation Chair in Latin Humanism, Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Western Australia; and University of Toronto Professor Emeritus of History Paul Grendler.

Examining the distinctive elements characterizing the way Jesuits live their religious vocation and conduct their various works, the symposium also will explore how this “way of proceeding” played out in the epochs and cultures in which Jesuits have worked. Participants will discuss the changes and constancies in the order throughout its history, and the impact on the apostolic works and lives on Jesuits.

For more information on the symposium, see the institute website, www.bc.edu/iajs.