Projects
Christianity, the Oriental Religions and the Mystery Cults in the thought of Franz Cumont, and his work within the context of Liberal Theology and Modernism (Alfred Loisy) Ghent University
This project aims to study Cumont's view on Christianity by studying his published works, his unpublished correspondence with other scholars, especially Loisy and his reviews. Aims: Cumont's theoretical views on the comparative study of religion theories about Christianity as a mystery religion, influences on Christianity by paganism, and Christianity versus the Eastern Religions within Roman cultural and political universalism.
The relation between history and theology according to R. Draguet (Louvain), M.-D. Chenu (Le Saulchoir) and Y. Congar (Le Saulchoir). A comparative analysis from the perspective of interaction and networking between theological schools. KU Leuven
Revisiting a Neglected Theological Current: A Historico-Critical Investigation into the ‘Theology of the Temporal’ and the Malines Text. KU Leuven
Between Scylla en Charybdis: The Promise and Pitfalls of Comparative Theology Ghent University
The discipline of U+2018comparative theologyU+2019 is sometimes proposed as an alternative to the U+2018classicalU+2019 theology of religions which has been criticized for being unable to promote authentic interreligious dialogue. By means of an interdisciplinary approach, this research project aims to investigate the degree to which comparative theology takes account of the epistemological and methodological insights and achievements of both ...
Orientalism and Franz Cumont (1868-1947): his views on U+201CEastU+201D and U+201CWestU+201D in the context of classical studies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Ghent University
Cumont offers a unique scientific dossier: he published ca. 800 titles on the religious and cultural interaction between Near-East and West in Antiquity, corresponded with leading scientists, and wrote travel-accounts of the Middle East when it came under colonial European control. These different communicative contexts offer unique opportunities for a nuanced reflection on orientalism and postcolonialism.
Secularism, colonialism and the Enlightenment: European toleration and the rise of fundamentalism in South Asia Ghent University
Research hypotheses: the proposed research will build on three hypotheses that resulted from earlier research on the development of the liberal model of secularism and toleration: (1) The basic structure of this model fails to be neutral with regard to all religions, because it is conceptually dependent upon a Protestant framework, namely, the theology of Christian liberty and its U+2018two kingdomsU+2019.(2) The policy of religious ...
The church in the middle. An inquiry into the urban parish and parish church in the Southern Low Countries (ca. 1450-1700) Ghent University
The aim of this project is to analyse the meaning of the urban parish and the urban parish church in the Southern Low Countries between ca. 1450 and 1700. The focus will be on the archives generated by the institutions themselves.
The material body: medicine and materialism of the early modernity to the radical Enlightenment Ghent University
The Body Material is an investigation of the status of the body in materialist thought, from
early modernity until the late Enlightenment (17th-18th centuries). At first sight, this may
seem like familiar territory: the Scientific Revolution produced an idea of mechanistic analysis
which was gradually applied to the body by thinkers including Descartes, at the intersection
of philosophy and medicine. ...
The Cartographic Undertaking of the French Jesuits in China during the Early 18th Century: Shaped by Interactions with Qing China and Europe. KU Leuven
This dissertation takes a fresh approach to the study of the exchange in scientific knowledge between Europe and continental East Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries, with a particular interest in cartographic practice. The mapping of territories controlled by the Great Qing, initiated at the behest of the Kangxi emperor (r. 1661-1722) and executed by teams of surveyors consisting of Qing officials and European missionaries, sets the stage ...