MIDDLEBURY — The Religion Department at Middlebury College will offer its annual Scott Symposium Oct. 26-29, on “The Protestant Reformation and Its Legacies,” celebrating the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s reform movement in the western church.
While historians now question whether Luther really posted his 95 theses on Oct. 31, 1517, the publication of the Wittenberg theology professor’s suggestions for debate on the sale of indulgences and the doctrine of purgatory spurred a movement that revolutionized the church, European culture, and world history.
Middlebury College professors from various disciplines will discuss the event and its global impact during two days of lectures and round table discussions on the fields of art, history, music, language, literature, politics, and religion, held at the Robert A. Jones ’59 House. The celebration will conclude on Sunday with a related service at 10 a.m. at the Congregational Church of Middlebury. All events are open to the public.
History faculty member Louisa Burnham and published independent scholar Jonathan Gray will give the opening lectures at the Robert A. Jones Conference Room, Thursday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. Ideal for a general audience, these lectures will explain the cultural and theological significance of the 1517 events in late medieval and early modern European context.
Faculty members will continue the discussion on Friday at the same location, from 3-6 p.m., engaging in roundtable conversations on topics relating to their academic expertise. The first panel session, about the Protestant Reformation and the Humanities, will feature faculty members Carrie Anderson (Department of History of Art and Architecture), Rebecca Bennette (Department of History), Jeff Buettner (Department of Music), Roman Graf (Department of German), and Jay Parini (Department of English and American Literatures).
The second panel session, on the Protestant Reformation and the Study of Religion, will feature faculty members Ata Anzali (Department of Religion), Febe Armanios (Department of History), Maria Hatjigeorgiou (Department of Religion and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies), O. Larry Yarbrough (Department of Religion), and William Waldron (Department of Religion).