\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Suggested Themes:
\nBy its 250th anniversary\, American democracy is at a crossroads. \; The American experiment in self-government faces a triple challenge: moral\, cultural\, and political. \; In The Fragility of Order (2018)\, George Weigel recounts America&rsquo\;s major twentieth-century challenges whose successes have come into question. \; Weigel argues that order is a &ldquo\;fragile thing\,&rdquo\; and needs continual renewal\, especially in a postmodern cultural context unsure about the truth of anything. \; According to Weigel\, order rapidly unraveled in the United States on three levels: moral\, cultural\, and political. \; Skepticism and relativism of the moral order found expression in nihilism in both popular and high culture\, which also translated into increased partisanship in the political order. \; The question arises how to restore the American Founders&rsquo\; ideal of a government that invoked &ldquo\;the Laws of Nature and of Nature&rsquo\;s God\,&rdquo\; with a conception of human nature as a &ldquo\;crooked timber of humanity\,&rdquo\; but redeemable\, that set up a constitutional framework with checks and balances to circumscribe the exercise of political power. \; If this &ldquo\;One nation under God\, with liberty and justice for all\,&rdquo\; is to endure\, then its Judeo-Christian cultural roots need to be rediscovered to nurture individuals\, families\, and communities\, reaffirming America&rsquo\;s promise of equality of opportunity\, in contrast to quasi-Marxist &ldquo\;equity&rdquo\; as leveling egalitarianism or &ldquo\;equal outcomes\,&rdquo\; a democratic temptation that Alexis de Tocqueville warned against in his Democracy in America. \; The neo-Freudian obsession with sex and its perversions needs to yield to the imago Dei vision of human dignity (Gen 1:27)\; the un-American emphasis on race and gender in education and public policy (affirmative action/DEI) replaced by merit as the best criterion for gauging individual effort\; while politics need the leaven of respect for all. \; In brief\, can America find its soul and redeem the American Dream?
\nJIS Symposium 2026 endeavors to bring together scholars from a wide \;range of disciplines and denominations for an exciting international \;conference which takes both scholarship and faith seriously. \; JIS \;Symposium 2026: The Future of Democracy: Renewing Ordered \;Liberty (Online via Zoom) is co-sponsored by IIR-ICSA-JIS. \; All \;conference participants must pre-register. \; Registration on JIS web: https://www.jis3.org/symposium2026.
\nAbstracts (250 words) due: April 15\, 2026: c/o Dr. O. Gruenwald\, JIS Editor\, 1065 Pine Bluff Dr.\, Pasadena\, CA 91107\, USA\, per e mail \;(no attachments) to: info@jis3.org. Include: Paper Title\, First &\; Last Name\, institution\, \;mailing address\, telephone &\; e-mail. Fully-developed papers will be considered for publication in the refereed Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies XXXIX 2027. \; Web: https://www.jis3.org/symposium2026.
ORGANIZER;CN=Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies;CN=Oskar Gruenwald: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR