THe 10th Australian Centre for Wesleyan Research Conference ACWR Conference is on 13 – 15 September 2019 at Eva Burrows College 100 Maidstone Street, Ringwood, Melbourne Victoria 3134 AUSTRALIA
Abstracts must be submitted by 21 June 2019 Submit abstracts online at acwr.edu.au/abstracts or email them to ijemila@hotmail.comacwr

he Australasian Centre for Wesleyan Research is a diverse and multidisciplinary community of established and emerging scholars united by a desire to foster and promote research and scholarship from a Wesleyan perspective and to connect scholars across disciplines and theological divides. The ACWR is calling for papers to address the theme ‘A Curious Machine’: Wesleyan Perspective on the Post-Human Future. The rate of technological change appears to be opening toward a future in which the centrality and uniqueness of human beings as rational creatures may undergo a shift. Human enhancement, genetic modification, remotely controlled weapons, the replacement of human labour and skill by robots, the commodification of data, and the development of independent reasoning powers in artificial intelligence all carry both promise and risk. In his sermon ‘What is Man?’ John Wesley spoke of the human being as a ‘curious machine,’ reflecting the eighteenth-century view of the person as a set of complex mechanisms animated by the soul. What ‘curious machines’ may lie ahead of us, not made in the image of God but in the image of a flawed creator? What insights does a Wesleyan theological anthropology bring? How unique is human reason and intelligence? Could a robot ever possess a ‘soul’? Will the future be post-human and what theological approaches will help us prepare for that possibility? Should the rate of technological change be slowed so that we can reset our moral and ethical compass? Or is technological change and development simply a movement toward humanity’s fulfilment in God? What are the biblical, theological, ethical, philosophical, and practical implications of the development of sentience within artificial intelligence? Thirty minute papers arising from a biblical studies, theological, historical, practical theology or inter-disciplinary perspective are invited. Shorter presentations (15 minutes) that interpret a work of art or other image, including popular culture, gaming, sci-fi, and cinema are also welcome. Overseas presenters may be able to present their papers online.

For more information email ijemila@hotmail.com or visit acwr.edu.au/2019-conference

ACWR 2019 Conference Call for Papers 21 June