Working to live? Living to work? Theological-missiological explorations on work in cities, towns and villages in Central and Eastern Europe
20-23 February 2018, Osijek, Croatia
Conference Call
The 2018 CEEAMS annual conference invites theologians, missiologists, reflective practitioners and other professionals to engage in conversations about work as understood and practiced by Christians and Christian communities in Central and Eastern Europe. Participation without presenting a paper is also welcome.
“Work,” or “labour,” is a complex and loaded concept in Central and Eastern Europe. It evokes ideologies of labour from the communist past. It recalls the compound experiences of transitions from socialist work systems into market capitalism. It conjures up memories of collectivisation and privatisation. It is also associated with desperate states of unemployment, underemployment, corruption, and the search for a better life. The increasing gap between rich and poor has much to do with how work is understood and practiced at different levels of society, as well as how education and labour relate to each other. Work perceived merely as a means for earning money, or common attitudes of “pretending to work,” reveal a sharp discrepancy between work as vocation and identity formation.
“Work” is also a lens through which Christians and/or Christian communities participate in development, entrepreneurship and transformation in societies. Our experiences and understandings of work are always conditioned by our social locations. Therefore, the conference will consciously seek to address differences and similarities in various conceptions and practices of work in cities, towns, and villages. Attention will be paid to seeking understanding of attitudes about work and the role of Christian faith in everyday work practice in these varying social settings. The question of integrating faith and work is relevant in post-communist societies, as well as those closely related to the European Union and other economic systems.
“Work” is a much-contested theological concept and has manifold doctrinal nuances. Theologising on work and theologising on creation go hand in hand. Work cultures and work ethics are shaped through a hermeneutics of work, and soteriologies and eschatologies speak to the dynamic between the work of God and the work of (wo)men. Transformational leadership programs have also begun to address the meaning of work as an integral facet of the task and phenomenon of leadership.
“Work” has both economic and ecumenical dimensions. It is about realizing forms of habitation for the sake of the well being of the larger community and realizing conditions for peacefully living together in societies conditioned by different social positions. Questions such as: What are the necessary building blocks of theologies of work in Central and Eastern Europe which lead toward a shared notion of work as vocation in daily life? In which ways can mission studies shape understandings of work that lead to promoting the common good and ensuring justice for all? What are best practices of theologies-missiologies of work? These questions and others figure on the agenda of the conference.
Call for Papers
In light of the above formulated observations, the organizers of the conference call for papers related to, but not limited to, the following issues:
- Theological reflections on work applied to case studies
- Work and creation: missiological explorations through case studies
- Labour migration and its implications for communities, families and societies
- Unemployment and its missiological implications
- Transformational leadership and its implication for understandings of work
- Workplace and work ethics
- Gender and work, equalities and inequalities
- Entrepreneurship and Christian faith
- theology of money; money and mission
- mission and economics
- faith, mission and politics of labour
To submit a paper proposal, please send an abstract of no more than 300 words to ceeams@gmail.com by 25 November 2017. Abstracts should provide a brief description of the work, clearly outlining the theoretical perspectives and methodology to be applied in the paper.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 8 December 2017.
Selected papers may be elected for publication in ACTA MISSIOLOGIAE, the journal of the Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies.
Conference papers should be restricted to 20 minutes of presentation time.
Dates of the conference:
Arrivals: Tuesday 20 February 2018, conference starts with supper.
Departures: Friday 23 February 2018, conference ends with breakfast.
We kindly request that participants plan their arrival at Budapest Airport on Tuesday 20 February by 14.00 at the latest in order to get a reduced price, booked in advance shuttle service to Osijek (35 Euro one way).
Departure 23 February after breakfast.
Plan your departure from Budapest Airport after 13.00 to be able to use a reduced price, booked in advance shuttle service from Osijek (35 euro one way).
Conference Venue:
| Evangelical Theological Seminary |
| Cvjetkova 32, PO Box 370, Osijek, Croatia, HR-31103 |
| Tel: 385-31-494-200 // Fax: 385-31-494-201 // Email: info@evtos.hr |
Language of the conference: English.
Registration fee: EUR 35
Registration deadline: 1 February 2018
Accommodation:
Accommodation in single room, meals, and coffee break drinks and snacks: EUR 200
Accommodation in shared (two persons) bedroom, meals, and coffee break drinks and snacks: EUR 135
Scholarships:
Participants, especially those whose abstract will be accepted, may apply for partial or full coverage of the conference costs. Working with principle of scholarship plus own contribution, we kindly request scholarship participants a EUR 25 own contribution for food and accommodation. Travel expenses cannot be reimbursed. Exceptions to the rule will be considered.
Please register as soon as possible using the following link:
Organizers:
Pavol Bargár
Scott Klingsmith
Anne-Marie Kool
Dorottya Nagy
Peter Penner
Ivan Rusyn
Vladimir Ubeivolc
Ruslan Zagidulin
For more information, please contact:
Julijana Tesija, Conference Coordinator
Dr. Dorottya Nagy, CEEAMS President