In recent years, we have built on the strengths of the past while stepping forward to meet the needs of 21st century scholarship. Scholarship in the study of Late Antiquity has expanded and matured as its own complex field, including but not limited to the traditional study of patristics. Medieval and Renaissance/Reformation studies, too, have grown in complexity, where the lines between intellectual history and cultural history, between theology, philosophy, art, literature, and culture have blurred or overlapped. In addition, our post-9/11 world has made clear the necessity of sustained and rigorous study of the long and complex interrelationship between the great traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, whose terms of relation were negotiated fundamentally in the pre-modern epoch.

Such emergent complexity has mandated an interdisciplinary and dialogical approach that the PMR aims to reflect. Theology and philosophy provide the centers of gravity in these conversations, but all the humanities and social science disciplines contribute essential elements to the work of scholarly clarification and discernment that will not only illuminate the past but also contribute to the understanding of our place within these traditions that continue to shape our cultures.

The Strengths of the Conference

As the PMR continues into its fourth decade, we have maintained its traditional strengths.The conference has an open call for papers, and it keeps its primary focus as a “working conference,” one in which commentary and dialogue are central to the gathering. This dialogue extends into the plenary sessions, integrating a theme-driven “conference within the conference.” The plenary sessions feature two major speakers who deliver papers on a single theme, and this plenary course will culminates in a panel discussion in which the speakers have the opportunity to discuss each other’s work and receive questions from the audience. A few select open sessions will be dedicated to the same theme as well, providing a good opportunity for a critical mass of scholarship, both senior and junior, to gather for discussion of current questions in the field.

Our annual theme captures only part of the work supported at the PMR. We have reached beyond the open call for papers to extend invitations to smaller societies to gather with an opportunity for more sustained research projects or new, exploratory work. We are pleased to extend our hospitality to these small communities of scholars, trusting that these networks of study will create a kind of synergy in the conference that will enrich all of our work.

PMR at Villanova

PMR is only one of many initiatives at Villanova University that aim to bridge the disciplines, to foster historical, theological, and philosophical study, and to speak to contemporary contexts. The triennial Reconsiderations conference, sponsored by the Augustinian Institute, is a sort of “summit meeting” of scholars on St. Augustine, convening next in 2009.

The Theology Institute fosters constructive ecumenical conversation on pressing questions of religion in public life, this year tackling “God and Mammon” October 24-26. The Villanova Center for Liberal Education sponsors ongoing work in classical texts and questions in the humanities. These and many other conferences and institutes have provided exemplary cases of how engagement across disciplines and traditions has become a powerful – and even essential – tool for scholarship and a flourishing culture in the 21st century. PMR is pleased to be part of Villanova’s ongoing engagement with both the best classical scholarship and the pressing questions of our time.