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Each year the Canadian Theological Society receives funding from SSHRC to assist with travel and campus accommodation expenses at our Annual CTS Conference at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Presenters, especially students, are a high priority for the allocation of these funds. Generally, in past years, CTS has been able to cover at least half of the eligible travel and accommodation expenses for students presenting papers at CTS who have for applied to CTS for this assistance. Travel subsidy forms will be available this year at the conference. Only CTS members are eligible for travel subsidies. For further information, please contact Bob McKeon, CTS Treasurer, by email at rmckeon@shaw.ca.

The CTS annual conference and meetings is taking place in Waterloo, Ontario as part of Congress 2012. Please click here to see a draft schedule of the conference papers, panel presentation, meetings and social events for 2012.

The Canadian Theological Society is happy to announce that Professor William Sweet is confirmed for the 2012 edition of the Jay Newman Lecture in the Philosophy of Religion. Sweet is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Philosophy, Theology and Cultural Traditions at St Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada. He is a member of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Ottawa, and an Adjunct Professor in the graduate programmes at Saint Paul University, the Dominican University College (Ottawa), and at the University of New Brunswick.

He is a Past President of the Canadian Philosophical Association, the Canadian Society of Christian Philosophers, and the Canadian Jacques Maritain Association. He currently serves as President of the World Union of Catholic Philosophical Societies, as President of the Istituto Internazionale Jacques Maritain (Rome), and as a member of the Steering Committee of the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie.

Jay Newman was former president and long time member of CTS. He was a prominent Canadian scholar with a keen interest in the philosophy of religion. He authored 11 books, seven of which related to religion or the religious life. He was a member of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Guelph from 1971 until his death on June 17, 2007. Professor Newman left a bequest to CTS for the purpose of endowing an annual lecture in the Philosophy of Religion. It is his generosity that enables us to sponsor this annual lecture.

Student Networking Luncheon

Canadian Theological Society Conference (Congress)

Wilfred Laurier University, May 2012

At our conference in 2011, numerous students expressed concern over their future career prospects. They also invited CTS to consider ways of facilitating some activity that would be helpful to them in their scholarly endeavors. They will have loan assistance options through SoFi.

To this end, at a recent meeting the Executive of the CTS deliberated over the efficacy of the Student Essay Contest, which saw one student paper chosen for presentation at the conference. The contest has seen dwindling entries in recent years (although student participation at the conference is strong) and we wondered about a more efficacious way of supporting graduate students. We have therefore decided not to run the contest this coming year and to redirect our energies and resources to a more active event.

At the May 2012 Conference, the CTS will host a “speed-networking” luncheon whereby students can interact informally, but within a structured environment, with established scholars. There will also be time for interaction following the designated  “speed-networking” portion of the luncheon. Our intention is to provide students with a venue in which to gather practical information regarding careers in theology. We hope this event will complement existing opportunities for interaction among new and established members.

We have not yet finalized the details of the luncheon but will notify members when we have done so. The event will be free for student members.

 

The Executive of the CTS invites our established members (i.e., tenured, tenure-track, emeritus, contract, retired, honourary) to share their experience and wisdom with students. And we invite students to take advantage of this opportunity.

 

To register for this event, please email: Doris Kieser (President-Elect, CTS) at dkieser@ualberta.ca by April 1, 2012.

 

May 28-30, 2012

Waterloo, Ontario

The theme of this Congress—Crossroads:  Scholarship for an Uncertain World—invites us to reflect on uncertain changes in the disciplines in humanities and social sciences, as well as the need to generate scholarship that addresses challenges facing our uncertain world.  Theologians are often practiced in engaging the uncertainties that surround our religious communities, our vocation, as well as the chronic uncertainties that well up in human life.  Therefore, the theme seems one to which our members may be responsive in diverse ways.

In order to offer a cohesive program, we invite proposals on the theme of Theological Responses to an Uncertain World.  We will also consider proposals on any topic in theology.  We invite submissions in two formats:

1. 20/20 Presentations

We will again follow the 20/20 format that we used for the 2011 Congress, inviting presentations of 20 minutes with 20 minutes discussion to follow.  Typically the presentation will be an account of a larger research project.  Since members work in a variety of fields and specializations, attention should be given to presenting advanced work in an accessible way.

Submission

Submit a proposal that includes:

• Presenter’s name, institution, and contact information
• Title of presentation
• Proposal of 250-300 words which includes an abstract, the problem your scholarship engages, and the contribution you plan to make.
• Requests for audio-visual equipment (A/V equipment will be available only if it is requested in the proposal)

2. Panels

We invite panels on issues that are relevant to members, especially as related to the theme of the annual meeting.  Panel proposals should be developed to foster dialogue among the panelists and with those attending in the audience.  Thus, we discourage panels which consist of the reading of several papers.

Submission

Submit a proposal that includes:

• Convener’s name, institution, and contact information.  The convener will be the link between the panel and the CTS.
• Names, institutions and contact information of all members of the panel
• Either the name and contact information of the moderator, or a request that CTS provide a moderator
• Title of panel
• Length of panel (40 or 80 minutes)
• Proposal of 300-400 words which includes an abstract, the problem your scholarship engages, the contribution you plan to make, and how you plan to foster dialogue among panelists and audience (e.g., use and allotment of time)
• Requests for audio-visual equipment (A/V equipment will be available only if it is requested in the proposal)

 

All proposals should be submitted in a Word or .rtf file by email attachment by January 15, 2012 to:

Jeremy Bergen, CTS Program Chair
jbergen@uwaterloo.ca

We will confirm receipt of all proposals submitted by email.  If you do not receive such an email confirmation within 3 days of submitting your proposal, call Jeremy Bergen at 519-885-0220 ext 24234.

Selection Criteria

In selecting proposals for 20/20 presentations or for panels, the committee will consider:

• The clarity and significance of the proposal
• The quality of the contribution to scholarship
• The relationship of the presentation to the thematic focus of the annual meeting
• The contribution of the presentation to a diversity of perspectives and approaches
• The potential for inspiring discussion and engagement among the members

Our goal as a Society is to foster collegial discussion of members’ work and of the work of other Canadian theologians.  All presenters and attendees are encouraged to participate in as much of the program as possible.  We welcome all members, students, and other interested persons to join us this year at the annual meeting in Waterloo, Ontario.

The Canadian Theological Society finalized its new executive roster at the recent congress in Fredericton. Click here to meet your new executive.

The CTS has finalized the conference schedule. Please click here to view a PDF version of the conference schedule, which includes the time and location of all presentations and meetings.

The CCSR has released its combined program for the upcoming Congress in Fredericton, NB. Please click here to view the full program in PDF format.

 

Canadian Theological Society

2011 Programme

May 30—June 1

All events will be held in Margaret Norrie McCain Hall 101 (Recital Room), St. Thomas University, unless otherwise noted.

Monday, May 30

9:00-9:10         Welcome, Lee Cormie, CTS President

9:15-9:55         Don Schweitzer, St. Andrew’s College, “The Sociality of Jesus Christ”

10:00-10:40     Concurrent sessions

Christopher J. Duncanson-Hales, Saint Paul University, “Divine Detectives: Globalization and Niklas Luhmann’s Challenge to Theology”

Nick Olkovich, University of St. Michael’s College, “Beyond Hauerwas: Bernard Lonergan’s Liberal-Communitarianism” (location: Margaret Norrie McCain Hall 106)

11:00-12:00     Annual Jay Newman Lecture in the Philosophy of Religion

“Miracles, Models and the Laws of Nature,” Robert Larmer, University of New Brunswick

1:15-1:55         Doris M. Kieser, St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta, “The Magical,

Mystical Penis – or – Why We Need More Marys”

2:00-2:40         John Perry, St. John’s College, University of Manitoba, “The Greed of Traders

and Bankers on ‘Coasts and Continents’”

3:00-3:50         Presidential Address, Lee Cormie, University of St. Michael’s College

3:55-5:00         CTS Annual General Meeting

7:00-8:30         Craigie Lecture (organized by CSBS, sponsored by CTS, CSSR, CSPS, CSCH):

“New Perspectives on the Sect of the Dead Sea Scrolls,” John J. Collins, Yale Divinity School (location: Margaret Norrie McCain Hall 100, Noel Kinsella  Auditorium, St. Thomas University)

 

Tuesday, May 31

9:00-9:40         Timothy Harvie, St. Mary’s University College, “In Search Of An Ethics Of Hope: Jürgen Moltmann, Catholic Social Thought and an Eschatological Economy”

9:45-10:25       Concurrent sessions –

Abigail Lofte, University of St. Michael’s College, “Who do you say that I am? A Postcolonial Hermeneutic of Resurrection”

Michael Tapper, Saint Paul University, “Other as Opponent: A Look at the Presuppositions of Canadian Evangelicals and their Critics” (location: Margaret Norrie McCain Hall 106)

10:40-11:20     Student Essay Contest winner: Hyunjoon (John) Park, Knox College, “The Hermeneutical Challenges in Interpreting Genesis 13:1-18”

11:25-12:05     Roundtable discussion: Unionization in Theological Schools

Moderator:      Alyda Faber, Atlantic School of Theology

Panelists:         to be confirmed

1:15-1:55         Christopher De Bono, University of St. Michael’s College, “At Sea in the New World of Clinical Chaplaincy: ‘Theology’ Overboard?”

2:00-2:40         Susan Willhauck, Atlantic School of Theology, “The Urban Dictionary, Street Wisdom and God:  An Intersection of Linguistics and Theology”

3:00-4:30         Panel:  “Joanne McWilliam’s Contribution to the Study of Religion in Canada”

Moderator:      Ellen Leonard, University of St. Michael’s College

Panelists:         Mary Ann Beavis, St. Thomas More College

Theodore de Bruyn, University of Ottawa

Jane Barter Moulaison, University of Winnipeg

Peter Slater, Trinity College

5:00-7:00         Presidents’ Reception (Congress event)

Location: Ballroom, Student Union Building, UNB
6:30                 CTS Dinner

Location: Brewbakers, 546 King Street, www.brewbakers.ca

 

Wednesday, June 1

 

9:00-9:40         Harold Wells, Emmanuel College, “God and the Rising Seas: Kenosis as Theodicy”

10:00-11:30     Panel: “The Place of Sub-Saharan African Christianity in World Christianity”

Moderator:      Lee Cormie, University of St. Michael’s College

Panelists:         Stan Chu Ilo, University of St. Michael’s College

Iheanyi Enwerem, St. Thomas More College

Joseph Ogbonnaya, University of St. Michael’s College