Wesleyan and Methodist Studies Unit

Revisiting Personalism: In Boston and Beyond

In 2025, the Annual Meeting returns to Boston, approximately 150 years after Borden Parker Bowne (1847–1910) returned to the U.S. from his European studies at Paris, Halle, and Göttingen, where he was deeply influenced by Hermann Lotze. Bowne taught for many years in the School of Theology at Boston University, he founded the Graduate School and the Philosophy Department, and he became known as the “Father of Boston Personalism.”

The Nineteenth Century Theology Unit, the Pragmatism and Empiricism in American Religious Thought Unit, and the Wesleyan and Methodist Studies Unit jointly invite papers on the subject of (Boston) Personalism and especially addressing topics that arise in light of the Annual Meeting’s theme of “Freedom.” Papers may consider nineteenth and early twentieth century philosophical and theological movements that influenced the development of Personalism (as it arose in affirmation of or in contradiction to them) as well as persons, positions, and movements that were directly or indirectly influenced by Personalism, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and the American Civil Rights Movement or attempts at West European Integration after World War II. We also invite papers that delve into original personalist thought and its relevance in contemporary discussions of personalism, connecting past and present by considering how early personalist thought continues to be relevant in our world today.

Arminianism:

The Presidential theme for the Annual Meeting, “Freedom,” is at the heart of Arminian theology, with its emphasis on human free will and divine non-coercion with regard to salvation. The Wesleyan and Methodist Studies Unit invites proposals of papers that explore Arminianism from a variety of theological, historical, and cultural perspectives. We encourage free interpretation of this theme, as AAR President Leela Prasad said in describing it, “Let us ask ourselves questions that we have asked before, but let us ask them with new sensibilities that allow us to draw on the past, be haunted by our times, and search anew.”

Book Panel: 

Volume 31, the final volume of John Wesley's Letters within the Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley (Abingdon), comprising a total of seven volumes, was published in August 2024. During the upcoming book panel, invited scholars including Randy Maddox, the editor of the Bicentennial Edition, will examine the implications of this comprehensive collection, which includes all letters available online, for our understanding of John Wesley's life and work. This panel is by invitation only.