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Villanova
University Augustinian Institute hosts conference on contemporary Augustinian
scholarship
Maureen McKew
Beginning Thursday, Dec. 4, and continuing through Saturday,
Dec. 6, more than a dozen scholars of the person, thought and history
of St. Augustine of Hippo gathered at a special conference titled “Reconsiderations:
A Conference on Contemporary Augustinian Scholarship.”
The conference began with the 2003 St. Augustine Lecture by Dr. Peter
Brown, Rollins Professor of History, Princeton University, whose work
Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (1967, 2000) sparked what has been described
as a virtual renaissance in the study of the fifth century bishop of Hippo.
The lecture was sponsored by Villanova University and the journal Augustinian
Studies, in collaboration with the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in
Rome, Italy.
Conference is first major endeavor of new Augustinian Institute
According the Rev. Thomas Martin, O.S.A., associate professor of theology
and religious studies, and director of the recently established Augustinian
Institute at Villanova, the influence of St. Augustine of Hippo extends
even beyond the profound effect he has had on the identity of western
Christianity.
“Given the enormous volume of his writings, one of the largest collections
to have come down from the ancient world, as well as their powerfully
personal and original approach to age old questions regarding the self,
God, virtue, goodness and beauty, and the city, he continues to be read
and discussed and argued from a wealth of different
perspectives,” Father Martin said.
“As an Augustinian university, Villanova has a special commitment
to continue to engage this ancient yet still vibrant tradition,”
Father Martin added. “A recent initiative by Villanova has been
the establishment of the Augustinian Institute, which will have the task
of fostering this engagement through conferences, lectures, and other
scholarly projects. This conference will provide a platform for some of
the world’s leading scholars of St. Augustine to come together and
assess his continuing legacy.”
The conference was divided into four main areas of discussion: Augustine
and the Practice of Theology; Augustine, Roman Africa, and the Construction
of Christianity; Augustine on the Human Being and Christ; and Augustine
on Conversion, Asceticism, and Authority.
Among the scholars who participated were Lewis Ayres, Emory University;
Carol Harrison, University of Durham, England; Michael Cameron, University
of Portland; Eugene TeSelle and J. Patout Burns, Vanderbilt University;
E. Ann Matter, University of Pennsylvania; Eric Rebillard, CARE, Paris;
Susanna Elm, University of California, Berkeley; Robert Dodaro, O.S.A.
and George Lawless, O.S.A., Augustinianum; Mathijs Lamberigts, University
of Leuven, Belgium; John Cavadini, University of Notre Dame; James Wetzel,
Colgate University; Liz Clark, Duke University; Conrad Leyser, University
of Manchester, England; and Robin Lane Fox, University of Oxford, England.
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