Deadline for proposals: 19 September 2025

The proposed session(s) will focus on the multifaceted relationship between time, matter, and religious practice. More specifically, the sessions will examine medieval multi-material and multimedia artefacts that challenge our conception of a « finished » object. The materialities and meanings of these complex artefacts have evolved throughout their lives and afterlives. They must therefore be understood as « works in progress » or organic entities that hold multiple narratives, identities, agencies and temporalities. The analysis will encompass reliquaries and other ornamenta sacra, devotional diptychs or triptychs, manuscripts as written artefacts, etc., from religious communities in a global perspective.

We welcome proposals for 20-minute papers in English from a variety of disciplines, including art history, material culture, archaeology, history, cultural history, anthropology, gender studies, musicology, literary studies, theology and the history of emotions. Contributions that facilitate a broader interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary or transregional approach to the study of materiality and religious practice are particularly encouraged.

Please submit an abstract (max. 300 words) and a short biography  to mercedes.pvidal@uam.es by 19 September. All proposals should include your name, email address, academic affiliation and preferred presentation format (in-person or virtual).

A more detailed description and suggested topics can be found here.