Call for Papers

The YDS Initiative in Religion, Science & Technology
Graduate & Faculty Forum

Call for Papers on

Renewing Hope:
Pathways of Religious Environmentalism

Inviting Works by Yale Students, Faculty, and Staff

The Yale Divinity School Initiative in Religion, Science & Technology (IRST) invites Yale graduate students, research affiliates, faculty, and staff to submit papers and/or projects illumin­ating the encounter of religion with science & technology, for presentation at the Graduate & Faculty Forum on Issues in Religion, Science & Technology.

Deadline for submissions: Feb. 14, 2008
Papers to be presented Feb. 28 • Yale Divinity School

Works selected are to be presented by their authors. Up to three papers are to be presented, with Q&A to follow. With presenters’ permission, the papers presented will be made available internationally via the Initiative’s website at yale.edu/religionandscience.

Unpublished papers, works in progress, and course projects (with or without attendant papers) are invited for summary presentation in 20 to 30 minutes. Please submit a one-page abstract by email to james.vanpelt@yale.edu.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to...

· Science in light of spiritual presence: spiritual perspectives on life and that which sustains it, and how human beings relate to the biosphere; health and healing; animal rights; and ecology.

· Science and technology in light of religious grounding and influence:

spiritual or religious perspectives on bioethics and genetics; environmental concerns; human extension via tools and technology; purposes and outcomes of technology; cultural criticism in light of related issues.· Science in light of the possibility of divine agency and interaction: evolutionary and cosmic origins and influences; scientific perspectives on religious truth claims and spiritual experience.

The mission of the Yale Divinity School Initiative in Religion, Science & Technology (IRST) is to engage the Yale community in interdisciplinary consideration of contemporary encounters between religion, science, and technology. IRST focuses especially on the theological, spiritual, ethical, and pedagogical implications of such encounters. IRST reaches beyond the Divinity School, inviting participation from across the University.

For more information:

yale.edu/religionandscience or james.vanpelt@yale.edu