Location
University of Manchester
As the fifth centenary of the birth of Saint Teresa of Avila draws to a close, we aim to reassess the influence of Iberian mysticism on global cultures over a two-day conference at the University of Manchester. This conference will explore how mysticism has transgressed theological orthodoxy to become a cultural force across and beyond disciplines, genres, and cultures. The legacy of the mystical tradition has held traction not only across geographical spans but temporal ones; the mystic spirit reverberates through modern and contemporary art and literature. Indeed, mysticism impacted the overseas empires of the Iberian Peninsula, fusing together local beliefs with imported Catholic tradition, a fusion which still reverberates today in the prevailing spiritual and artistic practices of Latin America and the Lusophone world.
The conference will include papers from all areas of the humanities, social sciences and fine arts which will inspire, challenge, and stretch our understanding of Iberian mysticism in a global context. Conference themes include:
Mysticism Across Cultures
- Converso mystics
- Mysticism and gender
- Alumbradas, beatas and false mystics
- Syncretic aspects of mysticism
- Iberian mysticism in Translation
Mysticism Across Time
- The origins and influences of Iberian Mysticism
- The cultural afterlives of the Iberian Mystics
- The reception of Teresa of Avila’s writing Iberian mysticism in art, literature, film, and television
- New perspectives on Iberian mysticism Francoist appropriations.
Mysticism Across Space
- Mysticism and Empire
- Mysticism in the Americas
- Mysticism in the Portuguese-speaking world
- Iberian mysticism in Translation
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