The 20th Biennial Conference of the American Cusanus Society & the International Seminar on Pre-Reformation Theology
Hosted by United Lutheran Seminary – Gettysburg Campus
Sept. 18-21, 2025

Plenary Speakers
Dr. CJ Jones, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Niklaus Largier, University of California, Berkeley

The American Cusanus Society, continuing its longstanding partnership with United Lutheran Seminary, will hold its 20th biennial conference in Gettysburg, PA, on Sept. 18-21, 2025. The conference will focus on the role of vision and the sensorial world in mystical texts. Inspired by the all-seeing icon described in Nicholas of Cusa’s De visione Dei, the conference seeks to explore the interplay between vision, sensation, imagination, aect, aesthetic experience, and mysticism in Cusanus and his milieu with an eye toward contemporary concerns. While special attention will be given to the life and works of Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464), papers on other related aspects of the fteenth century, the late Middle Ages, and the Renaissance are also welcome.

We invite proposals inspired by this theme from any methodological perspective. Possible topics may include: theories of light and colour, ranging from historical philosophies of perception to contemporary discourses around race; aesthetic theory or accounts of aesthetic experience, whether related to visual art or to more quotidian forms of sensory experience; the manifold roles played by the term figura across art, philosophy, and mathematics; the spiritual senses as faculties potentially capable of granting aesthetic data beyond the realm of sensory experience as normally construed; the history of visio Dei in contemplative theology as it relates to Biblical accounts of ‘seeing’ God and to the possible distinction between visionaries and mystics; and the denition of ‘beauty,’ regarded variously through the lenses of theology, philosophy, rhetoric, and art history.

W e seek proposals for 20-minute papers on topics such as these. Please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words to the American Cusanus Society gmail account no later than Feb. 1, 2025: americancusanussociety@gmail.com Please indicate in your email whether you plan to attend in-person or via our hybrid modality. There may be some funding made available for international travel.