‘Past Watchful Dragons’: Fantasy and Faith in the World of C. S. Lewis

Inspired by the forthcoming Walden Media/ Disney Film of the classic Narnia story The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, this conference celebrates C. S. Lewis’ contribution to literature, theology, apologetics, scholarship, popular culture, myth, and imagination.

‘Past Watchful Dragons’ will also consider the work of the constellation of writers associated with Lewis such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and Dorothy Sayers.

Belmont University invites scholars, students, church and community members to attend this exciting event featuring Doug Gresham (stepson of C. S. Lewis and Consultant to the film); Christopher Mitchell (Director of the Marion E. Wade Center and Assistant Professor of Theology, Wheaton College); Bruce Edwards (Noted Lewis Scholar, Associate Dean, and Professor of English at Bowling Green State University); David Payne (British actor and President of Rising Image Productions, specializing in dramatizations of the works of C. S. Lewis); and Glass Hammer (literary progressive rock band specializing in original music based on the writings of C. S. Lewis).

Conference to be held November 3-5, 2005 on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Scholars working on C.S. Lewis and the Inklings are invited to present paper proposals on the following suggested topics:

1. Fantasy and Film: Lewis and The Inklings.
2. Archetypes in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3. The Image of the Messiah and the Works of C. S. Lewis and the Inklings
4. Overcoming Evil with Good: The Theology of Lewis
5. Fairy Stories: Worlds of Imagination in the Writings of Lewis and Tolkien
6. Surprised by Words: ‘Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms’ and the Aesthetic Experience
7. Lewis and the Integration of Faith and Learning
8. The Appeal of C. S. Lewis: Exploring the Mystery

Papers on other topics considering the work of C. S. Lewis and suggested panel discussion topics are also welcomed. Please limit proposals to a 300 word abstract. Papers should be 20-25 minutes long.

All paper submissions due by May 1, 2005

Click here to submit a paper proposal