CFP: JIS Symposium 2021 The Arts & Transcendence: In Search of Beauty, Truth & Goodness

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS:  JIS SYMPOSIUM 2021: 

THE ARTS & TRANSCENDENCE:
IN SEARCH OF BEAUTY, TRUTH & GOODNESS

HILTON PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, USA, 23-24 JULY 2021

Keynote/Performance: “The Sound of Beauty”
Dr. Michael Kurek, Classical Composer, Vanderbilt University
(https://news.vanderbilt.edu/tag/michael-kurek/)

Suggested Themes:

In a postmodern era that questions all Absolutes except the subjective self, the arts may help rebuild the bridge to objectivity and transcendence.  Heinz Kohut’s psychology of the self notes the underlying malaise of postmodern man punctuated by fleeting images and disordered sound.  The arts probe the innermost recesses of the human soul and recall its quest for perfection, redemption, and immortality. Indeed, the human capacities to appreciate beauty, truth and goodness constitute a roadmap to transcendence.  In The Sound of Beauty (2019), Michael Kurek, a classical composer, explores how classical music reveals both God’s immanence and transcendence, and that it speaks a universal language beyond preference and prejudice.  Empirical research confirms that classical music enhances human cognitive abilities, creativity, perception, and memory, which echoes Immanuel Kant’s philosophical proposition concerning the architectonic structure of the human mind.  Neuroscientific studies show also that children who undergo musical training have better verbal memory, language skills, reading ability, and executive functions.  Learning to play an instrument as a child may predict academic performance and IQ in young adulthood.  The question arises: Can the arts that reflect the transcendentals of beauty, truth and goodness be a gateway to mending the broken self and restoring human aspirations for social bonding and happiness?

THE ARTS & TRANSCENDENCE  2021  SYMPOSIUM  GUIDELINES: THE ARTS & TRANSCENDENCE 2021 endeavors to bring together scholars from a wide range of disciplines and denominations for an exciting international conference that takes both scholarship and faith seriously.  Conference Venue: Symposium 2021 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.  Send Abstracts (250 words) to: Dr. O. Gruenwald, JIS Editor, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, 1065 Pine Bluff Dr., Pasadena, CA 91107, USA, per e-mail (no attachments) by: April 15, 2021 to: JIS Symposium 2021 ([email protected]).  Include: Paper Title, First & Last Name, faculty or student, mailing address, phone & e-mail.  Publication: Fully-developed papers will be considered for publication in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies XXXIV 2022. Bonus: All attendees will receive a complimentary JIS copy.  Symposium Web:  https://www.jis3.org/symposium2021.  Registration: Symposium participants must preregister: $100 by 15 April 2021; $125 after 15 April 2021; $150 after 15 May 2021.  Please note that there are no travel grants: participants (or their institutions) are expected to pay all expenses, including a modest registration fee (non-refundable, but tax-deductible).  For less expensive lodging, contact: www.visitpasadena.com.