CfP: “The great protector of wits.” D’Holbach 1789-2019
9-11 May 2019, Lichtenberg-Kolleg, Göttingen
230 years after his death, Baron Paul Henri Thiry d’Holbach (1723-1789) continues to be a challenging figure of the European Enlightenment. Not only was he a materialistic philosopher, a champion of anticlericalism, the author of the monumental Système de la nature known as “the Bible of atheists”, an idéologue, a popularizer of the natural sciences and a prolific contributor of the Encyclopédie, but he also played a fundamental role as an organizer of culture.
We invite papers in all aspects of Holbach’s thought, intellectual biography and cultural activity. Topics of interest include (but are not restricted to):
- D’Holbach’s philosophical, religious, moral and political thought
- D’Holbach as a scientist and a popularizer of the natural sciences
- D’Holbach as a translator and as an editor: practices of (re)writing (plagiarism, omission, addition, interpolation, juxtaposition); strategies of authoriality (anonymity, pseudonymity, allonimity)
- The Salon of Rue Royale, the coterie
- D’Holbach and the Encyclopédie
- The transfer of knowledge in d’Holbach’s circle: networks, correspondences, journals
- D’Holbach as a mediator of (transnational) culture
- D’Holbach and clandestinity: production and circulation of clandestine manuscripts, clandestine circulation of books, connections with editors
- D’Holbach as a financial supporter of the Enlightenment
- D’Holbach’s ancient and modern sources
- Critics, fortune and reception
The official languages of the conference will be both English and French.
Invited speakers: Nicholas Cronk (Oxford), Alan Charles Kors (Pennsylvania), Mladen Kozul (Montana), Tony La Vopa (North Carolina), Brunello Lotti (Udine), Emilio Mazza (IULM, Milano), Alain Sandrier (Caen Normandie), Maria Susana Seguin (Paul-Valéry Montpellier – ENS Lyon), Ann Thomson (European University Institute, Florence)
Submissions: We invite proposals for 20-minute presentations in either French or English. To apply please submit an abstract (no more than 300 words) along with a one-page CV to the conference organizers (lauranicoli85@gmail.com) no later than 30 October 2018. Please make submissions in either MS Word or in PDF format. Accepted proposals will be notified no later than 15 December 2018. Graduate students and unwaged early career scholars are particularly encouraged to apply and funds towards defraying the costs of travel and attendance may be available upon application. Please contact the conference organizers with any questions.
Organizers: Franziska Meier (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen), Laura Nicolì (Lichtenberg-Kolleg)
For further information, please see the conference website.
