Is there still space for spiritual themes—faith, transcendence, human meaning, the sacred, the holy—in popular films and series? What trends are there in treatment of religious and spiritual themes over the last few decades? Is the hidden God present in ever more subtle ways in contemporary films? Are there particular filmmakers in whose work spiritual and religious themes remain significant?
You are invited to take part in an engaging interactive conversation on “Spiritual Film Themes in a Secular Age” with a group of 12-15 film scholars and fans over the weekend from Thursday evening, October 10, to Saturday evening, October 12, 2024 on the campus of Gonzaga University, in Spokane, WA. The Seminar employs a unique approach in which scholars read and discuss one another’s papers in a collegial setting over a weekend.
Key Highlights
- Unique seminar format: accepted papers will be distributed to participants prior to the seminar; seminar focus is on interactive conversation
- 12-15 proposals will be accepted for participation in the seminar
- Each participant will have approximately ten minutes for a summary presentation and thirty-five minutes for questions, discussion, and feedback directly focused on his or her paper
- Proposal limit of 500 words; final paper target length 3000-3500 words
- No registration fee; all meals Friday and Saturday provided by the Gonzaga Faith & Reason Institute; participants responsible for travel and lodging
- Travel stipends available for selected participants traveling to Spokane from a distance greater than 500 miles
Call for Proposals
Proposals are due via email to faithandreason@gonzaga.edu (.doc, .docx, or .pdf format) by midnight Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Related Events
The Faith, Film, and Philosophy Seminar is part of a week of film-related events on the Gonzaga University campus, the 2024 Faith, Film, and Philosophy Series, which include a series of lectures, a film screening and panel discussion, and a student panel, all related to the seminar theme of “Spiritual Film Themes in a Secular Age.” Members of the seminar are welcome to attend any of these events.
The Seminar will begin with a public lecture by Michael P. Foley (Honors College, Baylor University), “A Secular Stage: Religion through the Lens of Hollywood,” on Thursday night, October 10. A second public lecture, “The Displacement of the Sacred in Modern Film: Film Nihilism from Nietzsche and Heidegger to Barbie and Deadpool,” will be delivered on Friday night, October 11, by Duane Armitage (Philosophy, University of Scranton). Both featured speakers will participate in the seminar discussion.
Featured Speakers
Michael P. Foley, “A Secular Stage: Religion through the Lens of Hollywood”
Michael P. Foley is Professor of Patristics in the Honors College of Baylor University. His academic research and writing focuses on the thought of St. Augustine, early and medieval Christianity, liturgy, and comedy and tragedy. He has written and spoken on a number of topics in film, including Catholicism and film, mystery films, and the films of Andrew Niccol and Whit Stillman. In addition to his scholarly work, Foley is a popular writer and speaker on Catholic history and culture.
Duane Armitage, “The Displacement of the Sacred in Modern Film: Film Nihilism from Nietzsche and Heidegger to Barbie and Deadpool”
Duane Armitage, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Scranton, is a scholar of continental philosophy with specialization in Nietzsche and Heidegger, especially the theological dimensions of their thought. His books include Heidegger and the Death of God (Palgrave Macmillan 2017) and Philosophy's Violent Sacred: Heidegger and Nietzsche through Mimetic Theory (MSU Press 2021). Armitage has special interest in the social, cultural, and theological implications of the Death of God.
Contact
If you have any questions or encounter any problems with submitting your proposal, please contact David Calhoun, Director of the Gonzaga Faith & Reason Institute, at faithandreason@gonzaga.edu.