2027 - Dublin

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON JESUIT STUDIES

In the World, Not of the World
Jesuits, Conflicts, and Peacemaking (1540–Present)

Dublin, Ireland | June 16 – 18, 2027
In collaboration with Dublin City UniversityÌý

From their earliest missions in war-torn Europe to their contemporary global engagements in contexts marked by political violence and social fracture, Jesuits have navigated the complex terrain between conflict and reconciliation with remarkable outcomes worthy of further study. At once diplomats and dissidents, chaplains and controversialists, mediators and martyrs, members of the Society of Jesus have occupied multiple roles in the history of human conflict and peace, sometimes contributing to the difficulties, more often seeking to transform and resolve them.

This Symposium invites scholars to examine the complex relationships between the Jesuits and their works and the dynamics of conflict and peacemaking across five centuries and five continents. We invite critical, historically grounded, and theoretically engaged contributions that illuminate how Jesuit thought, spirituality, and institutional practices have shaped—and been shaped by—struggles over power, justice, violence, and reconciliation.

Additionally, in their pastoral ministries, Jesuits served as observers and chroniclers of military and religious conflicts, and of the diplomatic efforts undertaken to prevent or resolve them. The sources they produced offer a rich avenue for exploring Jesuit perspectives on war, peacebuilding, and international relations. These materials took a variety of forms, ranging from manuscript sources, such as the diaries and correspondence of military chaplains, to printed publications, including political commentaries, reports, and articles in newspapers and journals. These sources provide valuable insights into how Jesuits witnessed, interpreted, and communicated the events of their time.

The Symposium also encourages contributions that explore intra-Jesuit conflicts and the internal processes of peacemaking and reconciliation used within the Order to maintain institutional cohesion amid disputes over governance, authority, and competing visions of the Society’s mission.

Ireland, shaped by a history of political and religious tensions yet equally by a sustained pursuit of reconciliation and peace, offers a particularly resonant setting for this conversation.

We invite scholars to submit papers on topics including, but not limited to: Ìý

Ignatian spirituality and theology as frameworks for conflict and reconciliation; Jesuit roles as diplomats, mediators, chaplains, and controversialists; colonial missions, indigenous communities, and the politics of violence and protection; internal Jesuit disputes and mechanisms of institutional cohesion; and the Jesuit tradition of peacemaking in dialogue with contemporary contexts of structural violence and post-conflict reconciliation.

Proposals and a narrative CV are due before the end of Monday, November 30, 2026. Selected papers may be peer-reviewed and published in open access following the event. More details are available at bc.edu/iajs. Submissions should be made . Contact the Institute with questions (iajs@bc.edu). The aim of the International Symposium on Jesuit Studies, sponsored by Boston College’s Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, is to establish a platform for academic exchange that will stimulate scholars to cross the thematic and chronological boundaries of their research fields in order to reflect this interdisciplinary development.

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