25.11.: Einladung zur ESSSAT-Konferenz

The European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT) invites you to the Twelfth European Conference on Science and Theology in Sigtuna, Sweden, April 30 to May 5, 2008: How do we know? Understanding in Science and Theology.This theme is basic for all religious thought in an age of science and will be addressed from several perspectives by the plenary lecturers. Lewis Wolpert, embryologist, Fellow of the Royal Society, speaks on the nature of science. He is the author of Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief, and a vice-president of the British Humanist Association. Noreen Herzfeld, theologian and computer scientist, author of In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit, discusses the dynamic nature of theology, thus countering science-inspired atheism. The nature of the knower will be addressed by Peter Gärdenfors, cognitive scientist, author of How Homo Became Sapiens: On the Evolution of Thinking. Willem B. Drees will relate controversies over the nature of knowledge to views of religion-and-science. In the concluding symposium with the title Beyond Hedenius. Changing Conceptions of Knowledge, Antje Jackelén, a scholar in religion and science and as of April 2007 Lutheran bishop of the diocese of Lund, and Mikael Stenmark, Uppsala, author of Scientism: Science, Ethics and Religion, will participate.
The conference is a joint conference with Sigtunastiftelsen, a beautiful conference centre near Stockholm (see www.sigtunastiftelsen.se), rooted in the student movement and ’church and society’ (e.g., Nathan Söderblom). Reception will be on Wednesday April 30, 2008 at 5 PM at Sigtunastiftelsen.
Plenary discussions offer the opportunity for all participants to engage in debate on the central issues. Short paper sessions will allow many participants to present and discuss their ideas.

All those attending the conference are invited to offer a paper on the conference theme How do we know? Understanding in science and theology for presentation in a short paper session. Papers on other aspects of the interaction between science and theology are also welcome.

Suggested topics include:
• Knowledge and understanding in science and theology
• Human nature, biology, and understanding
• The social construction of knowledge in science and theology
• Understanding, language, and metaphors
• Moral implications of knowledge in science and theology
• Relativism and belief.

Those intending to present a paper should submit a provisional title, 5 to 10 keywords, and an outline of not more than 500 words which makes clear the relevance of the paper to the theme of the conference or other aspects of the interaction between science and theology. These single-sided outlines should also include: full name, academic position, full postal and e-mail addresses. They must be received by e-mail only before November 1, 2007 by the Scientific Programme Officer at the address to the left below. The conference language is English.
Information about the acceptance of a paper will be given early January 2008, together with guidelines for the paper and its presentation at the conference. Complete papers must be received by March 1, 2008. Papers and the short paper session schedule will be made available to registered participants and members of ESSSAT. This will be on a password-protected website, to allow participants to select and prepare the sessions they wish to attend in advance of the conference.
Each presenter will have 10 minutes to present the main ideas of the paper, followed by 30 minutes for discussion. PowerPoint facilities and overhead projectors will not be available, but the presenter is free to distribute handouts. Some of the papers presented at the conference will be printed in forthcoming ESSSAT publications. Information on submission and selection will be given at the conference. Presentation of a paper at the conference does not guarantee publication.

Send submissions of outlines for short paper sessions before November 1, 2007, to the
Scientific Programme Officer:
Dr. Taede A. Smedes,
E-mail: programme@esssat.org
.

A single fee covers accommodation, registration, conference documents, access to papers on the website, meals, conference dinner, and excursion. The fee is 550 Euro with discounts for early registration (until November 1, 2007), and for ESSSAT members. Day visitors are asked to contact the Registration Officer below for further information.
Should you cancel your registration before April 1, 2008, your fee will be refunded with a deduction of 50 Euro. After that date your fee will not be returned.Send registration form, printed or by e-mail, to the Registration Officer:
Rev. Dr. Eva-Lotta Grantén
Assessorsvägen 21, SE-237 31 Bjärred, Sweden
E-mail: registration@esssat.org

Your registration is valid upon payment. Participants can pay via bank transfer. If you pay via bank transfer, please make sure that it is clearly identified. If you pay by credit card, the form must be signed and sent by fax to Sigtunastiftelsen +46 8 592 589 17, as well as sent by mail or e-mail to the Registration Officer. Credit card payments are charged in SEK at the prevailing daily exchange rate plus 10 %. Confirmation on registration will be given immediately.
Accommodation will be at Sigtunastiftelsen and the nearby hotel Stora Brändbo. The kitchen can provide vegetarian meals, but not kosher or halal meals.
Passport and visa requirements for countries outside the European Union should be checked in good time.
Early registration is strongly advised, and offers a discount (see Registration form).

In 2008 two different prizes will be awarded, preferably to younger scholars from disciplines such as theology, philosophy, the natural sciences, ethics or history:
• ESSSAT Research Prize (e.g. a doctoral dissertation or work of similar substance).
• ESSSAT Student Prize (an essay at graduate or upper under-graduate level).
Nominations for 2008 have to be submitted to the secretary of ESSSAT by November 1, 2007. The prizes are sponsored by the Radboud Foundation, NL. Details on prize conditions can be found on the ESSSAT website.

Students, including Ph.D.-candidates, recommended by their professors, pay 50% of the fee. In addition to registration, they should send a letter of recommendation to the ESSSAT secretary.

ESSSAT offers a limited number of scholarships to cover registration and/or accommodation and/or travel expenses (occasionally). Applications will be considered from:
• Students and non-established younger scholars from all European countries
• Scholars from European countries where financial circumstances may inhibit participation
• Students and scholars from outside Europe with similar circumstances. Preference will be given to those studying or working at a European university.

Guidelines for scholarship applications are available on the ESSSAT website, or by contacting the ESSSAT secretary. Scholarship application together with the Registration form should be sent to her before November 1, 2007.

Send application for scholarship to the
ESSSAT secretary:
Marie Vejrup Nielsen, Theological Faculty,
Taasingegade 3, 8000 Århus C, Denmark
E-mail: secretary@esssat.org

Willem B. Drees, ESSSAT president, NL
Ulf Görman, vice-president for conference, S
Marie Vejrup Nielsen, secretary, DK
Taede Smedes, scientific programme officer, NL
Eva-Lotta Grantén, registration officer, S
Chris Wiltsher, treasurer, UK
Anne Runehov, S
Mikael Stenmark, S
More conference information is available at the ESSSAT website. The registration form is also available for download from the website.

ESSSAT website: www.esssat.org

The registration form is also available at www.ESSSAT.org

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Please tick as appropriate:
Early registration fee (until November 1st, 2007)
 ESSSAT member 490 Euro
 Non-member 520 Euro
Later registration fee (after November 1st, 2007)
 ESSSAT member 520 Euro
 Non-member 550 Euro

 I am a Student paying 275 Euro. I have sent a letter of recommendation to the ESSSAT secretary.
 Partner 450 Euro
 I will be willing to share a room

Information on how you pay:
 I have made a bank transfer to Postgirobank Dortmund, PO Box 106050, D-44131, Dortmund, Germany;
IBAN DE58 4401 0046 0000 6544 60
BIC PBNKDEFF
Bank BLZ 440 100 46

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