[URBANTH-L]CFP: Spatializing the Missionary Encounter (Belgium)

[Angela Jancius]

Spatializing the Missionary Encounter. The Interaction Between Missionary 
Work and Space in Colonial Settings

Venue: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium


While research on colonial architecture and space has found a broad academic 
interest during the past several decades, research on the architectural 
staging and spatial implications of the worldwide expansion of religion has 
found much less concern. Nonetheless, the development of colonial empires in 
the nineteenth and twentieth century went hand in hand with a missionary 
revival sending Christian missionaries to every corner of the world. As 
those missionaries generally were in closer contact with the local 
population than colonial officials, studying their spatial practices and 
strategies offers high potential for analysing the dynamics of intercultural 
interaction in the imperial encounter.

We invite papers that explore the possible lines of a nuanced analytical 
scheme to study this interaction between missionary work and space. Critical 
in this scheme is an approach to missionary architecture and space not so 
much as a backdrop for the missionary encounter, but as an essential part of 
this encounter in itself. Moreover, we explicitly call for papers that 
explore the roles of the different actors involved in creating meaning and 
performing practices in these spaces.

In general, the scientific committee welcomes all papers that shed light on 
the complex and plural realities surrounding the interaction between 
missionary work and space in colonial settings. The workshop focuses on 
missionary work of all denominations in colonial settings between roughly 
1800 and 1960. We aim at bringing both an overview of existing research and 
exploring new ways of studying this interaction. Papers exploring new 
methodologies are particularly encouraged. We explicitly strive to include 
research coming from a multitude of disciplines (architectural history, 
history, mission history, anthropology, geography, cultural studies).

If interested, please submit a 250 words abstract and a c.v. by 31 December 
2006 to Bram Cleys(bram.cleys at asro.kuleuven.be). Final papers are due for 
pre-circulation on 31 October 2007.  A more detailed call for papers - 
outlining possible research questions - and additional information on this 
workshop can be obtained by emailing Bram Cleys.

Scientific Committee: Bruno De Meulder (Dept. of Architecture, Urbanism and 
Planning, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), Jan De Maeyer (KADOC - 
Documentation and Research Center for Religion, Culture and Society, 
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), Nicholas Bullock (Department of 
Architecture, University of Cambridge), Sabine Cornelis (Department of 
History, Royal Museum of Central Africa), Johan Lagae (Department of 
Architecture and Urban Planning, Ghent University)

Bram Cleys
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
Department of Architecture, Urbanism and Planning
Kasteelpark Arenberg 51
B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium
Phone: (0032) 16.32.13.39
Fax: (0032) 16.32.19.81
Email: bram.cleys at asro.kuleuven.be