The American Society of Church History is pleased to announce its 2023 Annual Meeting, which will take place from January 5-8, 2023 in Philadelphia, PA. The conference will be hosted at the beautiful Warwick Rittenhouse Hotel in Rittenhouse Square.
Registration
Please note that you must have an active ASCH membership (either for the 2022 or the 2023 calendar year) to register for the meeting. Note that if you purchase a membership for the 2023 calendar year, but do not have a current membership for the 2022 calendar year, when you log in it will say that you do note have an active membership. You will still be able to register for the meeting, as long as you have a future 2023 registration.
Early bird registration discounts are available through December 6.
Conference Program
We received an overwhelming number of responses to this year’s call and have an incredible, diverse program focused on the theme of “Experimentation.” We are eager to welcome everyone to Philadelphia in January and to enjoy four days of friendship, discussion, and scholarly exchange.
Here is a link to a working draft of the full program (please note that all details remain subject to change):
And here a few highlights from the program:
Vernacular Religion: A Tribute to Leonard Norman Primiano
Renowned folklorist Leonard Norman Primiano (1957-2021) coined the term “vernacular religion.” Primiano worked largely in Philadelphia among Father Divine’s International Peace Mission Movement and the Catholic LGBTQ organization Dignity. This panel celebrates Primiano's legacy in tributes from scholars whose work his has inspired.
Panelists: Anthea Butler, Richard Callahan, Tracy Fessenden, Kathryn Lofton, Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada, Elizabeth McAlister, John Lardas Modern, Deborah Dash Moore, Judith Weisenfeld.
(Re)mapping “Americana” Church History: An Experimental Undertaking
This experimental panel convenes scholars of Latin American and U.S. Latinx religion to examine how mapping, as methodological and conceptual tool, can serve as resource to uncover new dimensions of "Americana" Church History. Panelists will engage various resources and methods to present their work.
Panelists: Angel Gallardo, Grace Vargas, Lloyd Barba, Daniel Ramirez, Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada
Experiments in the Art of Medieval Ireland and Britain
The session is devoted to exploring the ways in which the public art of the early medieval Church in Britain and Ireland - the stone high crosses - have come to be considered 'experiments' in monumental art. Engaging with this concept inspired what might be considered 'experimental scholarship,' one that developed at the time of great ecclesiastical and nationalist debate in the latter part of the nineteenth century and which saw the sculptures invoked to demonstrate national primacy of both Church and State.
Panelists: Thomas Pickles, Jane Hawkes, Megan Henvey, Caitlin Hutchinson
Experiments in Modern African Christianity
Following the conference theme of “Experimentation,” this panel will explore how modern or contemporary Africans who identify with wider denominational or Christian identities such as Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, and evangelicalism have experimented with shaping those identities to draw upon their own specific cultural resources and to suit their own contexts.
Panelists: Jehu Hanciles, Beth Ann Williams, Timothy Larson, Ruth Vida Amwe
Roundtable: Michael Hollerich’s Making Christian History: Eusebius of Caesarea and his Readers
This author-meets-readers panel will feature responses to Professor Michael Hollerich’s recent book on the reception and use of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History and Professor Hollerich’s response to those responses.
Panelists: Chris Bonura, David Devore, Euan Cameron, Jeremy Schott, Stefania Tutino
The Records of Philadelphia’s Historic Congregations
This session explores stories revealed by the records of Philadelphia’s earliest congregations and technological advances that made it possible. 80,000 pages of minutes, sacramental registers, and more from 14 congregations have been uploaded into one website, enabling researchers to see each congregation’s history in context with others.
Panelists: Nancy Taylor, Carol Smith, Joyce Irwin, Kim Eric Williams
Evangelical Aesthetics: The Art They Hated and the Art They Made
This panel reconsiders aesthetics as a crucial locus of evangelical religion, culture, politics, and ideology in the mid- to late-20th century. Secular and experimental art often appeared a threat to supposed biblical values, but evangelicals also created a market for art that promoted their understanding of a Christian society.
Panelists: Anthony Petro, Austin Steelman, Kristin Du Mez, Allison Murray, Randall Stephens
Read the 2023 Annual Meeting Call for Proposals
More details and registration information will be posted here as they are available.