JIS Symposium 2025: “C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien: The Promise of Christian Fairytales”

                                   CALL  FOR  PAPERS  JIS  SYMPOSIUM  2025 

            C.S. LEWIS & J.R.R. TOLKIEN: THE PROMISE OF CHRISTIAN FAIRYTALES

                    PASADENA,  CALIFORNIA,  USA, 18 October  2025 (Online: Zoom)

                                          Hosted by Omega Graduate School

                                                       Suggested  Themes:

   It is not an exaggeration to state that, in the long shadows of the twentieth century, a remarkable fellowship of British Medievalists known as the Inklings Christianized the Western literary canon.  In their award-winning book, The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams (2015), Philip and Carol Zaleski conclude that a small group of romantics and fantasists sought to revitalize literature and faith in the twentieth century’s darkest years.  Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia narratives and Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings offered Christian fairytales as a conduit for re-enchanting the modern world. Arguably, the Inklings revitalized the ancient genre of the Quest for the Holy Grail that fascinates readers across centuries with its great themes of voyages, challenges, conquest, self-conquest, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil.  The question arises whether Christian fairytales may redeem the postmodern temper steeped in a cultural morass of relativism, subjectivism, and nihilism, where many are seduced by a secular marketplace offering high-tech substitutes for self-realization.  Can Lewis’ and Tolkien’s moral imagination inspire a renewed optimism in the human capacities of reason, faith, love, and compassion?  In sum, can Christian fairytales restore a fractured postmodern self by envisioning a more felicitous human nature in pursuit of the classical virtues of beauty, truth, and goodness, nurturing families and communities, and aspiring to transcendence?

JIS Symposium 2025 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 2025: C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien is co-sponsored by IIR-ICSA-JIS in the City of the Roses--the world-famous Tournament of Roses--in sunny Southern California, with many cultural & sightseeing opportunities (online via Zoom).  All conference participants must pre-register (tax-deductible).  Abstracts (250 words) due: April 15, 2025: c/o Dr. O. Gruenwald, JIS Editor, 1065 Pine Bluff Drive, Pasadena, CA 91107, USA, per e-mail (no attachments) to: [email protected]. Include: Paper Title, First & Last Name, faculty or student, institution, mailing address, telephone & e-mail. Fully-developed papers will be considered for publication in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies XXXVIII 2026.  Web: https://www.jis3.org/symposium2025.

        CONFERENCE  STRUCTURE:

       Main Conference Program via Zoom:  Saturday, 18 October 2025.

       Format:  Multidisciplinary panels and papers.  Suggest PowerPoint presentations.

       Keynote: TBA.

       Leitmotif:  In search of virtues (the Tao) in Christian fairytales.

       Sponsors:  Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, International Christian Studies Association.

       Hosted By:  Omega Graduate School.  Dr. David C. Ward, Zoom Coordinator.

       Registration:  Donation (tax-deductible).  Online Option via PayPal: Use PayPal Donate Button on JIS Symposium 2025 web: https://www.jis3.org/symposium2025.