An Interdisciplinary and International Conference

 April 6-8, 2018

Hosted by the Academy for the Study of Saint Ambrose of Milan

St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa

In coordination with the Dies Academicus (Classe di Studi Ambrosiani), “Progetti e prospettive di ricerca su sant’Ambrogio a livello internazionale,” at the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, March 20-21, 2018.

The Conference

Ambrose of Milan built community, not only in the literal sense (e.g., through construction of churches) but also by crafting or re-crafting the sense of community in the Late Ancient Roman Empire, especially in the West.  This international conference on the campus of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, will address the many ways and means by which Ambrose constructed community.  How did Ambrose form a community, mold a particular sense of community, or reshape the understanding of an established community?  How did he redefine what it meant to be Roman?  Christian?  Rich or Poor? How did he connect the Powerful and the People, the Sage and the Simple?  Humans and the rest of creation?  How did his sense of community engage the (so-called) pagan, the Jew, the heterodox, the barbarian? 

Ambrose of Milan built community, not only in the literal sense (e.g., through construction of churches) but also by crafting or re-crafting the sense of community in the Late Ancient Roman Empire, especially in the West.  This international conference on the campus of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, will address the many ways and means by which Ambrose constructed community.  How did Ambrose form a community, mold a particular sense of community, or reshape the understanding of an established community?  How did he redefine what it meant to be Roman?  Christian?  Rich or Poor? How did he connect the Powerful and the People, the Sage and the Simple?  Humans and the rest of creation?  How did his sense of community engage the (so-called) pagan, the Jew, the heterodox, the barbarian? 

To answer such questions, the broadest approaches are needed.  Disciplines may include, but are not limited to, Art and Archaeology, Communication, History, Law, Medicine, Music, Philosophy, Poetry and Literature, Politics, Science, and Theology. Papers may also address the communities that Ambrose ‘inherited’ or how later generations used Ambrose for their own community building efforts.  Interdisciplinary topics are encouraged.

Papers will be 20 minutes to allow time for questions.  Time will be allotted during and after the session for dialogue.  

‘Ours is the ministry:’  The pastoral charism of St. Ambrose of Milan

The Academy for the Study of St. Ambrose of Milan invites you to a unique opportunity for parishes and parochial schools, and any other interested religious or lay people.  The workshop will help you to incorporate your Patron Saint into your pastoral, spiritual, liturgical, and educational ministries.  You will also enjoy meeting and swapping ideas with representatives from other institutions.

We are honored to be guided by Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, O.S.A., Director of the Augustine Institute at Villanova University, and Rev. Brian Dunkle, S.J., Boston University.  Both are Ambrose scholars of international regard and are deeply spiritual in their approaches.

The workshop will be held on the campus of St. Ambrose University, in Davenport Iowa, on April 8th 2018, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.  The cost is $25.00 per person.  By keeping costs low, we hope to encourage you to send a representative or a delegation to this workshop and promise that it will be richly rewarding and fruitful to your ministry.  Although the workshop specially address St. Ambrose, the ideas to be exchanged are useful for any parish seeking to tap into the unique charism of their own patron, whoever that might be.  We have found that increasing our campus’ connection to its patron saint has helped to inform our collective identity and to form a strong community bond.

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