cfp.english.upenn.edu

Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Saturday 6 November 2010

Whether you are thinking revelation or inspiration, expressing the ineffable divine is a challenge, and interpreting such utterances may not be without difficulty. A number of devices are used by Biblical and other writers to express the divinity, including prosopopeia, metaphor, symbol and story. In the Bible the voice of God is everywhere, though he is and is not actually seen. Auerbach noticed 'universal-historical claims', 'multiplicity of meanings, need for interpretation', and 'preoccupation with the problematic'. Theophanies, the experiences of seers and mystics, and epiphanies are expressed in writing. Allegories and re-tellings of old stories refer to God even if they do not attempt to define him. Most periods of Western literary history bear this witness, and modern novels are no exception.

Offers of papers to be read at the conference (and subsequently printed in The Glass) are invited before the deadline 31 May 2010.

Fuller details are on the CLSG website at http://www.clsg.org/html/conference.html The page will be progressively updated as details are known.