The Jesuit Studies Caf\u00e9s for Spring 2019 have been announced, featuring scholars from Africa, Europe, and North America. Topics range from Jesuits in Qina China to Robert Persons, SJ, and from a new online bibliography to questioning if the Jesuits were the last medieval order.<\/p>\n
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The Jesuit Studies Caf\u00e9s are informal discussions<\/a> hosted by the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies. The events are free and open to the public, either to attend at the Institute’s library at Boston College or to join via videoconference. These caf\u00e9s are unique opportunities to engage with some of the world’s preeminent scholars working on the history, spirituality, and educational heritage of the Society of Jesus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you would like to attend a caf\u00e9 via videoconference, please register, and you will receive information on how to access the online meeting space 24 hours before the discussion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Spring 2019 schedule follows below.\u00a0Please contact the Institute with any questions or if you wish to join or lead a caf\u00e9 in the future (iajs@bc.edu).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n February 21, 9:15 a.m. Eastern<\/strong><\/p>\n Eugenio Menegon, Boston University and Collaborative Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies<\/strong><\/p>\n “The Jesuits as Courtiers in Qing China”<\/strong><\/p>\n The Jesuits started their mission to China during the late Ming period, in the 1580s, but only received official imperial protection during the following Qing dynasty, starting in 1644. They were incorporated in the Imperial Astronomical Directorate as scientific functionaries, and informally served the emperor and the imperial court as painters, architects, horologists, cartographers, and ‘Western Studies’ experts until the late eighteenth century. Some key players within the Society of Jesus in Beijing also played a more “political” role as imperial favorites, or “courtiers” in early modern parlance. Part of a larger project on the Qing court, this presentation will cast light on the experiences of “missionary courtiers” in late imperial China.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n March 21,\u00a09:15 a.m. Eastern<\/strong><\/p>\n Special Guests from North America and Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n JesuitOnlineBibliography.Com<\/strong><\/p>\n Either in person or online, please join special guests from Europe and North America to learn more about JesuitOnlineBibliography.com<\/a> — a free, collaborative, multilingual, and fully searchable database of bibliographic records for Jesuit Studies scholarship produced in the 21st century. The Jesuit Online Bibliography is a collaborative effort between Jesuit research centers and archives as well as scholars and publishers. Join the caf\u00e9’s informal discussion to learn how the database works and how you can contribute to its growing and curated collection of scholarship.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n April 11,\u00a09:15 a.m. Eastern<\/strong><\/p>\n Victor Houliston, University of the Witwatersrand<\/strong><\/p>\n “Puzzles and posts: Reconstructing the Correspondence of Robert Persons, SJ”<\/strong><\/p>\n Discussion will be led by Aislinn Muller, Institute Fellow.<\/p>\n