From Ancient Christianity to Bob Dylan
Lecture series of the Cluster of Excellence about conversion from Antiquity until the present day
The new winter semester lecture series of the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” will investigate conversions from Late Antiquity until the present day. Beginning on 20 October, the public series will be entitled “Conversions. Turning points in faith and life” (Konversion. Glaubens- und Lebenswenden). The topics range from the conversion to ascetic Christianity in ancient Rome and conversion dreams in the Middle Ages to early modern reformers and baptism as a means of access to the European culture for 19th-century Jews. Conversions within Islam in Indonesia, the conversion of US-American musician Bob Dylan to evangelical Christianity and the change from spiritual healing to psychiatry in India will also be examined in detail. The lectures will be held on Tuesdays from 6.15 to 7.45 pm in lecture theatre F2 of the Fürstenberghaus at Domplatz 20-22 in Münster.
The lecture series deals with the conversion from one religion to another, but also with the conversion from non-faith to faith. Other domains of conversion will also be discussed, such as political or ideological conversion or the literary conversion to courtly love. Representatives from various disciplines: from history, law, ethnology, theology, Arabic studies, German and Indonesian philology, Jewish studies and Medieval Latin philology will be speaking.
“The 14 lectures pay particular attention to the historical, cultural and social conditions of the constellations and media of conversion as well as to the rhetorical strategies of their presentation and justification”, explains literary scholar Prof. Dr. Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf. “Cultures outside Europe will also be taken a look at. The series is basically about critically reflecting the idea of conversion”, says the German studies specialist. At the Cluster of Excellence, she is head of research project B2-18, “Conversio, or: you must change your life. Figurations – scenes – media”. She has also organised the lecture series together with mediaeval historian Prof. Dr. Wolfram Drews and German scholar Prof. Dr. Bruno Quast. (exc/ska/vvm)