Intersections of Earth Sciences and Theology in the Long Eighteenth Century

Thursday, 11 July – Saturday, 13 July 2019
Venue: Historic Observatory/Historische Sternwarte
Geismar Landstraße 11

Organized by Hanna Roman, Volkswagen‐Mellon Fellow in Residence & Lichtenberg‐Kolleg

Programme


Thursday, 11 July


Arrival of conference participants
16:30 Meeting point at the Eden Hotel and walk to the Old University Library
17:00 Guided tour of the Old University Library (optional)

Friday, 12 July



8:30-8:50 Arrival and Registration
8:50-9:00 Opening Remarks and Introduction

FIRST SESSION & DISCUSSION

9:00-11:00
Sara Miglietti (Warburg Institute)
“From physico-theology to eco-theology: J.J. Scheuchzer (1672-1733) on God, man and nature”
J. B. Shank (University of Minnesota)
“Making Sense of Primordial Origins in Europe around 1700”

11:00-11:30 Coffee Break

SECOND SESSION & DISCUSSION

11:30-13:30
Ivano Dal Prete (Yale University)
“Only God Knows When”: The Controversy on the Age of the Earth in Early Eighteenth-Century Italy”
Hanna Roman (Dickinson College / Lichtenberg-Kolleg)
“Reading the Ruins of the Past: The Hermeneutics of the French Enlightenment Earth Sciences”

13:30-14:30 Lunch at the Lichtenberg-Kolleg

THIRD SESSION & DISCUSSION
14:30-16:30
Claudine Cohen (École des hautes études en sciences sociales)
“The place of the Flood in Earth Theories (1680-1750)”
Jean-Olivier Richard (University of Toronto)
"Thales, Moses, and Tales of Origins in the Early Enlightenment"

16:30-17:00 Guided Tour at the Old Observatory (Lichtenberg-Kolleg)

19:00 Dinner at the Lichtenberg-Kolleg

Saturday, 13 July



FORTH SESSION & DISCUSSION
9:00-11:00
Lydia Barnett (Northwestern University)
“A Natural History of Sin: Imagining Environmental Harm in the Enlightenment”
Jean-Baptiste Fressoz (École des hautes études en sciences sociales):
“The theory of a living planet 1770-1830”

CONCLUDING SESSION
11:00-12:00 Round Table & Coffee
Discussion of presentations and conclusion of conference