The World Conferences on Fraternalism
The conferences began in 2015 as an initiative to promote scholarly
discussions on the topics of Freemasonry , Fraternalism , Ritual studies amongst scholars around the world . It seemed logical to pick Paris as a permanent location because of the enormous amount of Masonic activity in the city . Later a Washington meeting was added in alternative years — the Washington meeting in 2020 will feature Masonic music . As with the 2019 meeting in Paris , themes do not preclude other topics . Thus , feel free to send proposals related to the general topics — freemasonry , fraternalism , volunteerism , secret societies , etc , as well .
Paris and Washington are centers of Freemasonry and like organizations . Arguably they have more to offer than any other locations for meetings and no one visiting them will exhaust the amazing opportunities they afford . And one need not expound on the treasures of the great French national library which is the genial host for the presentations .
Nor is Freemasonry the only focus . Discussion of fraternalism , ritualistic organizations , and social capital is appropriate and helpful . To give an idea , papers on the Companionage , Grange , Moose and other subjects have been welcome and extremely well received . Many of the scholars in attendance are not themselves members of any fraternity but grateful to meet those who are and they welcome productive and scholarly exchanges on various relevant topics .
An objective certainly is to fill a need to discuss how ritual and volunteerism have been important but perhaps somewhat neglected aspects of societies . In addition , topics related to different intersectionalities such as gender , race , class , sexuality , citizenship amongst others have been brought to the discussion table . The papers often appear in books published by Westphalia Press or in the Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society Journal . By no means are the subjects or shape of the conferences set in stone : really and truly the suggestions for future activities are welcome . It is important to emphasize that would like to hear your feedback related to future topics you would like to see included in our conference . Do write Pierre Mollier (
pierremollier @ hotmail . com ), Guillermo De Los Reyes (
jgdelosr @ Central . UH . EDU ) or Daniel Gutierrez (
dgutierrezs @ ipsonet . org ).
We present the 2019 program as a useful record , although last minute changes will be noted on the internet and in a printed form at the conference registration table . There will also be a video record , which in the past has been useful for classes and lodge meetings .
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