Call for Papers 2018

Aesthetic of/in Reformation

Deadline 31 October, 2017

Call for Papers

Aisthema, International Journal – Philosophy, Theology, Aesthetics is a peer-reviewed (double-blind) online Journal dedicated to the intersections between philosophy, theology, and aesthetics. Unique in the Italian academic world, the journal welcomes scholarly articles written in a philosophical or a theological vein as well as analyses of aesthetic phenomena by researchers working on philosophy and/or theology.

The field of Aisthema is further defined by its close connections with the arts and culture, including the reality of human experience and its environment. Besides philosophical and theological rigor, the Journal would like to emphasize both the creativity of ideas and the precision of language. It provides a platform for new innovative ideas crossing the boundaries of both philosophical (and theological) traditions and traditionally accepted fields of research in Aesthetics.

In order to commemorate the two "big events" of 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and the 1st Centennial of the October Revolution, the Editorial Board of Aisthema aims to publish two “special issues”.

So, Leonardo Distaso and Giancarlo Lacchin, Editors of both the forthcoming Issues, scheduled for publication in 2018, are pleased to invite submissions. We welcome full-length Essais (max 75.000 characters), Critical Notes (max. 35.000 characters), Reviews (max 20.000 characters) and Bibliographical Notes (max 10.000 characters). Please, note that Critical notes are brief responses to aesthetic experiences which raise philosophical or theological questions, pointing the way towards suggestive discussions rather than necessarily arguing for particular answers.

Submission and formatting requirements are available here:

http://www.aisthema.eu/ojs/index.php/Aisthema/about/submissions

Submissions that do not meet our requirements will not be considered.

Each Issue will have two parts, one dedicated to a specific theme, and the other (“unthemed”) devoted to philosophical and/or theological and/or aesthetic questions of any kind. Thus for each issue, the Editors seek submissions in two categories.

Aesthetics, Theology and Philosophy (“unthemed”): This section will be devoted to theological and/or philosophical matters pertaining to any aesthetic practice or experience. Both two issues will contain this category.

Aesthetic of/in Reformation: according to the historical tradition, on October 31, 1517 Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, affixed his thesis about the Church's "theological reform" on the Church’s doors of the Castle of Wittenberg. In 2017, for the 500th time, will be celebrated the "Reformation Day", which from five centuries reminds that event, considered as the birth of Protestantism. For many Christian Churches, Institutions, and Individuals, this Year particularly significant brings an ineliminable question: 500 years after that event, what can we do in order to adequately commemorate the Protestant Reformation?

Protestant Reformation, in fact, must not be considered as a series of “doctrinal” or “theoretical” principles, systematically elaborated “from above” after 1517, but rather – as it was and is – as a complex and in some ways disconcerting series of events. A Reformation’s analysis, therefore, should not be “confined” in a doctrinal or theological point of view, considering conclusions and condemnations of the Reformation epoch as timeless and above all criticism. On the contrary, in order to evaluate the contingency and the “despair” of the Reformation, its unexpected sources and its sometimes ironic results, it is mandatory to take a step backward, unique attitude by which one can consider its yet vital importance not necessarily written on the stone.

For that Issue, suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

1) Reformation and Aesthetics: a comparison between philosophy and theology