The Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, University of Oxford and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile are pleased to invite Latin American early career scholars to submit applications to take part at a workshop on The Place of the Person in the Cosmos, to be held in Santiago de Chile, Chile, 20-22 September, 2017. Applications should be received by 15 May, 2017.
All applicants have now been notified of the outcome of their applications. You can see the list of selected participants here.
The workshop will enable a select group of up to twenty-five exceptional, early-career Latin American academics to interact with a team of three senior researchers, to foster interdisciplinary engagement across science, philosophy and theology. For this workshop, ‘early-career’ refers to post-graduate students (at masters or doctorate level), post-doctoral fellows, and scholars within their fifth year of tenure at any Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Latin America.
The main themes of the workshop will be the relations between the notions of person and cosmos, including perspectives from cosmology, physics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and theology. It is expected that accepted papers will engage with these themes from an interdisciplinary perspective including philosophical, scientific, and theological insights on the place of the person in the cosmos.
The organisers hope the workshop to be a venue for open discussion and debate, leading to the preparation of academic articles and papers to be published by the participants in national or international academic journals. The mornings of the workshop will be devoted to the lectures and discussion of the plenary speakers, while the afternoons will be reserved for the discussion in small groups of the participant’s papers. The programme will include lectures on the cosmology and creation, the ontology of the person, and the quantum and relativistic cosmos. The workshop will also include a seminar on project management skills and development, and free time to tour the city. The language of the workshop will be English.
Successful applicants will receive a stipend of up to $1300 (which could be used to cover travel expenses), in addition to free accommodation and meals during the length of the workshop, and pre-reading materials to stimulate the discussions.
Important: All workshop participants should also take part at the final conference of the IRC’s project ‘Science, Philosophy and Theology in Latin America‘, which will be held the following week at the same venue, 25-27 September 2017. The organisers will also cover accommodation and meals for workshop participants during the conference.
1. Keynote speakers – “Who will lecture?”
The organisers are pleased to announce an exceptional group of confirmed keynote speakers, who will engage in direct conversation, debate, and discussion with the participants on their own proposed papers and ideas:
- Prof Ard Louis, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, UK. Prof Louis will address questions on the science of the small and large cosmos.
- Prof William E. Carroll, Thomas Aquinas Fellow on Theology and Science, Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, UK. Prof Carroll will engage with issues on cosmology and creation.
- Prof Georg Gasser, Professor Christian Philosophy, University of Innsbruck, Austria. Prof Gasser will discuss philosophical insights into the ontology of the person.
2. Eligibility – “Who can apply?”
Any early-career scholar from Latin America can apply to participate in these workshops. In particular the organisers are interested in applications from scholars working on cosmology, physics, psychology (including experimental psychology), the philosophy of mind and religion (including discussions on dualism and personhood), theology (in relation to scientific work on cosmology and the notion of the person). Scholars working on other fields are encouraged to contact Dr Ignacio Silva (latin.america@theology.ox.ac.uk) in advance to find ways of integrating their plans to the themes and topics of the workshop. Please visit the research section of the website for a detailed, non-exhaustive list of possible research questions.
Up to twenty-five early career scholars from Latin America who show exceptional promise, selected by means of competitive assessment, will be invited to take part of this workshop. For this workshop, ‘early-career’ refers to post-graduate students (at masters or doctorate level), post-doctoral fellows, and scholars within their fifth year of tenure at any HEIs in Latin America.
3. Application instructions – “What do I need to send?”
Interested participants should submit their applications by 15 May, 2017. All applications, written in English, should include:
- A 1000-word statement of purpose, indicating the reasons for applicant to take part in the workshop, how she/he will benefit from it in particular relating to the stage of her/his career, and what are the prospect for her/his future academic career.
- A 1000-word summary of their proposed paper, to be discussed during the afternoon sessions, indicating with which keynote speaker she/he would like to work, and the intended journal/s for publication of the paper (the journal can be local or international). The paper to be published can be in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The paper to be discussed at the workshop should be in English.
- An academic curriculum vitae.
- A letter of recommendation from her/his current or former graduate supervisor, or the home institution stating support for the application. These letters should be sent directly by the supervisor/institution to Dr Ignacio Silva (latin.america@theology.ox.ac.uk).
Application documents should be sent to Dr Ignacio Silva at latin.america@theology.ox.ac.uk, by 15 May, 2017.
Notification of the assessments should be expected by 1 June, 2017.
4. Selection criteria – “What does a successful application look like?”
The applications will be assessed according to the following criteria:
- Academic promise, as evidenced by CV, personal statement, and recommendation letter.
- Quality of abstract and paper proposed.
- Plans for publications.
- Future academic plans.
All enquiries, correspondence, and submission of applications should be sent to Dr Ignacio Silva at latin.america@theology.ox.ac.uk.
General information about the workshops is available here.
