Doctoral School

Doctoral Colloquium BABEL – Boundary Breaking Developments in the Research on the History of Religions

Target audience

First, we aim to bring together early-career researchers from various faculties and departments at Ghent University (including Philosophy and Moral Science, History, Archaeology, Languages and Cultures, among others). Second, we intend to facilitate interaction between these early-career researchers and their counterparts from other universities across Flanders, and more broadly, Belgium. Third, established academic scholars will also be present at the event.

Organizing and scientific committee

UGent: Benjamin De Vos (Faculty of Arts and Philosophy - Department of Philosophy and Moral Science)

BABEL: The Belgian Association for the Study of Religions (BABEL) organizes a biennial Doctoral Colloquium, alternating in the intervening years with an international congress. BABEL is a member of the European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) and the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR). It comprises representatives from universities across Belgium. The Board includes Vice President Dr. Sofia Nikitaki (KU Leuven), Secretary Dr. Niels De Nutte (VUB), Webmaster and Co-Secretary Dr. Catherine Dromelet (University of Antwerp), Treasurer Julien Dechevez (Université de Liège), and President Dr. Benjamin De Vos (Ghent University).

Abstract and Objectives

The primary aim of this Doctoral Colloquium is to bring together both early-career and more experienced academic researchers from across Belgium, in order to facilitate the exchange of scholarly expertise. Secondly, the colloquium provides a platform for doctoral researchers to present their work and to receive constructive feedback—both on the content of their research and on their presentation skills. This takes place within a context of academic excellence, while also being embedded in a safe and supportive environment.

Thirdly, the colloquium offers specialist courses designed specifically for early-career researchers. Regardless of their disciplinary background, participants will be introduced to methodological frameworks that they can apply to their own research. The programme will alternate between these specialist courses and the research presentations by the doctoral participants themselves.
The specialist courses will be taught by internationally renowned experts, as outlined below. Each of these courses will focus on the current state of research regarding a specific topic within the field of the History of Religions

Dates and venue

10 + 11 September 2025

KANTL – Ghent (Koningstraat 18, 9000 Gent)

Programme

Wednesday – 10 September, 12:30 PM

  • 12:30–13:00 – Registration, welcome coffee, and sandwich lunch
  • 13:00–13:10 – Opening remarks by Benjamin De Vos, President of BABEL (Ghent University; Bmardvos.devos@UGent.be)
  • 13:10–14:00 [Chair: Benjamin De Vos] – First Specialist Course – Lisa Franke (Ghent University) – Why Rethinking the Anthropology of Islam? Dynamics of Change in Muslim Societies
  • 14:00–14:30 – Coffee break

Doctoral Student Presentations Session (Antiquity)

[Chair: Julien Dechevez]

  • 14:30–15:00 – Liselotte Liegeois – Subject: “La religio dans les débats politiques publics tardo-républicains : un concept à revoir »
  • 15:00–15:45 – Steven Geusens – Subject: “When a god disappears: The case of the decline of Mithras worship in the Roman world.”
  • 15:45–16:15 – Corinna May Lhoir – Illuminating the Yogapradīpa: A Study of its Sanskrit Origins and its Old Gujarati Bālāvabodha and Ṭabo Commentaries.
  • 16:15-16:45 – Simon Lambert – Consecratio et construction de “symbols mémoriels”: le role des divinisations dans la legitimation impériale auprès de l’aristocratie romaine.

 

[Chair: Benjamin De Vos]

  • 17:00–17:50 – Second Specialist Course – Daniel Barbu (CNRS – Laboratoire d’études sur les monothéismes/Paris) – Werewolves, Sorcerers, and Scholars. Some thoughts on the Role of Comparison in the History of Religions. 
  • 17:50-18:20 – (to be filled in)
  • 18:20–20:45 – Networking event – Reception at KANTL

 

Thursday, 11 September

[Chair: Sofia Nikitaki]

  • 8:30–9:20 – Third Specialist Course – Catherine Dromelet (Antwerp University) – “The Early Modern invention of Fanaticism. Focus on Hume and Hartley"
  • 9:20–9:50 – Coffee break

Second Session of Doctoral Student Presentations (Medieval and Modern Times)

[Chair: Sofia Nikitaki]

  • 9:50-10:20 – Safia Zghal – Topic: “Averroès en débat : réappropriation de la falsafa dans le dialogue entre Faraḥ Antūn et Muḥammed ʿAbduh (1902-1903).”
  • 10:20-10:50 – (to be filled in)
  • 10:50–11:20 – Nyala Karla Nauwelaers – Subject: Social Time and Desacralization. On the Changing Nature of Sundays in Belgium.
  • 11:40–12:10 – Lina Vekeman – Topic: ‘The Aestheticization of Religion in Walter Pater’s Marius the Epicurean.’
  • 12:10-12:40 – Anne-Catherine Pardon – “When a Nazi-Theologian speaks out. Gerhard Kittel and the editorial history of his Die Judenfrage (1933:1,2/1934:3)”

[Chair: Benjamin De Vos]

  • 12:40–13:00 – Closing Session: Reflection on the Doctoral Colloquium and presentation of the topic for the International BABEL-Conference 2026
  • 13:00–14:00 – Lunch
  • 15:30-17:30: Activity – OMG! Op Stap met Romeinse Goden (Velzeke)

 

Registration

Registration fee

Free of charge for Doctoral School members.

Number of participants

Maximum 40 participants

Language

English

Training method

Three specialists will be invited to deliver a lecture or conduct a workshop, each designed to be broad and accessible enough for early-career researchers from a wide range of academic backgrounds and faculties. Each session will last approximately ninety minutes (format: workshop or lecture followed by questions).

On Wednesday evening (after 7:00 PM), a networking event will be organized, bringing together doctoral researchers, former members of the BABEL Board, and professors from various universities. This will take the form of an extended reception held at the Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature (KANTL), specifically aimed at fostering professional connections.
The main part of the programme will be dedicated to presentations by doctoral researchers. On Thursday, toward the conclusion of the colloquium, an additional session will be held to stimulate general reflections on the doctoral presentations in dialogue with the content of the three specialist courses. This reflective session will also serve as a space to explore potential themes for the International Conference organized by BABEL the following year

Evaluation method

A certificate of participation will be issued to those who attend the full programme. While not all participants will deliver a presentation—some early-career and postdoctoral researchers may attend primarily to follow the specialist courses and engage with the presentations of their peers—full attendance will be required in order to receive the certificate

After successful participation, the Doctoral School Office will add this course to your curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme in Oasis. Please note that this can take up to one to two months after completion of the course.