Augustine and Augustinianisms Unit
Confessions of the Flesh: Foucault’s Augustine and Augustine’s Foucault
Augustine in Foucault’s Confessions of the Flesh is a monument in “the history of the subjectification of sex.” According to Foucault, Augustine complicates human sexuality by introducing a spiritualizing internalization that not only sets ethical norms and expectations, but also “opens up a field of analysis” whereby sex is governed “on a completely different basis” for many centuries to come. For a joint session with the Foucault and the Study of Religion Seminar, papers are invited that examine Foucault’s Augustine in light of the many new developments in Augustinian studies, Foucault studies, or any other field using all available methodologies. Papers may principally address Augustine, readers of Augustine, Foucault and his development, or any of the problematics Foucault argues that Augustine introduced into our reflection on these topics.
Augustine and His Readers on Nature and the Environment
Augustine’s contribution to religious thought is commonly characterized as profoundly inward-looking and so preoccupied with human psychology that it shows relatively little interest in the natural world. Furthermore, Augustine's pronounced eschatology has been interpreted as devaluing earthly goods. Given Augustine’s vast influence, especially in the West, judgments about this topic have come to have an outsized importance. Papers are invited employing methods from any and all disciplines examining the meaning and role of “nature” in Augustine’s own writings or that of any of his subsequent readers. Papers are welcome that are critical of Augustine and later Augustinians as well as ones that call into question previous scholarly characterizations of this aspect of Augustine’s legacy and propose new perspectives based on fresh reading and new scholarship. If there are resources in Augustine for our current crisis, what are they and what are their practical effects? If there are not, what precisely should be challenged and changed in the legacy we inherit and pass on?
This Unit provides a forum for the historical and constructive study of issues relating to the life and thought of Augustine of Hippo, including how it was received in various eras and how it might be a resource for religious thought today. We work collaboratively with other units and constituencies of AAR to promote scholarly conversations across fields and methodologies. We are committed to providing an inclusive scholarly environment where new voices are heard and critical analyses advanced. Calls for papers, new publications, and other updates in the field of Augustinian Studies can be found on our "AAR Augustine & Augustinianisms Unit" Facebook page.