From the McNeil Center for Early American Studies:
Religion has long been central to how people have understood the origin and development of the Americas. Yet despite advances in comparative and transnational approaches, disciplines and fields still perpetuate a notion of the hegemonic imposition of Christianity (Protestant vs. Catholic) along linguistic and national boundaries (Iberian vs. Anglo-Saxon). We believe that this fosters a historical division that limits the extent to which we can collectively advance the study of religion in the Americas during the early modern period (1500 – 1800). One consequence of this traditional disciplinary perspective is the perpetuation of a myth about Latin America’s grand narrative of tragedy and the black legend versus North America’s history of manifest destiny and modernity. The aim of this symposium is to challenge this disciplinary and cross-cultural inaccuracy by bringing together a group of international scholars whose work will show the religious history of the Americas to be more fluid and dynamic than previously imagined.
The schedule and registration information is available on the conference website. The symposium is open to the public, but papers will be pre-circulated to presenters, participants and attendees. Please note that there are two venues for this conference. Presentations on November 11, will be held at the McNeil Center, while those on November 12, will be held at Princeton University.