Note: this option is for academics and scholars who wish to present a paper at the event as their afternoon session option. It is not required for general attendees of the Summer Institute.
Format: the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute Academic Roundtable
The Academic Roundtable is a generative, multiday roundtable seminar offered to attendees at the Summer Institute desiring to cultivate their ongoing research in a community forum. During the Institute’s afternoon seminar slots, participants in the roundtable will meet together to hear and share papers, provide feedback and suggestions for future research, and join in generative discussions about the implications of the papers presented. The Roundtable is an interdisciplinary forum welcoming scholarly presentation that draws on the perspectives of researchers from a diverse range of backgrounds and career stages. Paper submission is required to participate in the Roundtable.
The Academic Roundtable will take place during the afternoons of Saturday, July 26; Monday, July 28; and Tuesday, July 29. It will replace the choice of afternoon seminar session for the roundtable participants.
Faculty whose paper proposals are accepted will be expected to attend the entirety of the Summer Institute and participate in all scheduled sessions of the Academic Roundtable.
Call for Papers
Returning Home: C.S. Lewis, Roots, and Transformation
Individually and societally, we are defined by the stories we tell ourselves—about our identities, the events and struggles of our lives, and the social structures that guide, shape, and ease those lives. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings understood the power and need for storytelling—to communicate ideas, to stimulate the imagination, and to imitate the creative act of God. We tell stories because it is in our nature.
One of the most central, archetypal stories that we tell is the story of the Journey. In it, a protagonist ventures out into the unknown, faces hardships and growth, finds companions along the way, and returns with a boon to society. The questions posed by Journey narratives are are many and diverse: What is the “Good Life”? How do we deal with pain and suffering? How does someone grow in wisdom and strength? What does good friendship look like? What is our purpose? Which version(s) of our stories are real, true, meaningful? The 2025 C.S. Lewis Summer Institute will address these questions while examining the concept of the Journey as a whole as well as its constitutive elements.
Our contemporary world is full of competing versions about what the Journey of life should look like. Media, science, industry, faith, and politics all offer their own narratives. Groups form around stories and thrive by retelling those stories. Religions and philosophies give meaning and purpose by shaping their adherents’ individual life experiences into a powerful form of story – the testimony. Modern technologies accelerate the sharing of stories and counter-stories to dizzying speeds. With the dawn of AI comes the new possibility of stories generated without direct human composition.
The CSL Summer Institute Academic Roundtable will explore these and related topics. Scholars from all disciplines are invited to submit papers that will explore the idea of the Journey as an active and potent narrative in which we can find shared meaning, purpose, and unity in an increasingly fractured world.
Details and Deadlines
All paper proposals submitted for selection must engage the theme the conference, but may do so from any disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective. Papers coming from the domain of C.S. Lewis or “Inklings” studies are very welcome, but not necessary. Papers reflective of the tradition of Christian engagement of the culture or the academy will be especially welcome.
Paper presentations must not exceed 20 minutes.
Please submit by email, as attached Microsoft Word documents or PDFs the following: [a] a 300 word abstract that clearly describes the paper’s relationship to the Summer Institute theme, and [b] a 2-page CV, including complete contact information. Acknowledgement will be made by email.
Deadline for proposal submission: February 15, 2025
Contact: Chris Howell, Ph.D., Academic Director, C.S. Lewis Foundation
chowell@cslewis.org | www.cslewis.org/programs/si
Note: some scholarship funding is available to participants of the Academic Roundtable. Please visit our registration page for more information on how to apply for a scholarship.
Note: We will have regional rates for residents of the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the U.K. There will be a special Regional Full Conference Rate as well as an Academic Roundtable Only rate for regional residents.
