Jesuit Science in the Early Modern Peripheries: The Making of a ‘Glocal’ Network - November 23-27, 2026, Louvain-la-Neuve, UCLouvain

The conference brings together scholars from across the world to analyse and discuss what may be described as "Jesuit science" in the early modern period: a broad set of interdisciplinary knowledge practices developed by missionaries and scholars of the Society of Jesus, contributing to fields as diverse as natural history, astronomy, physics, geography, cartography, linguistics, ethnography, anthropology, philosophy, history, and theology. Rather than approaching these fields separately, the conference papers consider them as interconnected forms of knowledge shaped by missionary experience, intercultural encounters, and circulation through Jesuit global networks.

The making of early modern knowledge cannot be understood exclusively from the perspective of European intellectual centres. Although this process unfolded alongside European colonial expansion, it depended fundamentally on intellectual exchanges among multiple centres and peripheries. The contributions presented here demonstrate that Jesuit missions in regions conventionally regarded as marginal to the history of science were not merely suppliers of raw materials or empirical observations for European scholars. They were active sites of knowledge production, where local actors, Indigenous expertise, linguistic mediation, and regional intellectual traditions played a constitutive role in shaping scientific practices and epistemological frameworks. Through case studies spanning Africa, the Americas, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, the conference explores how Jesuit intellectual activity adapted to local contexts while remaining embedded in transcontinental and trans-imperial networks. More than a comparative history of missionary experiences, the programme highlights the global character of the Jesuit project and examines how early modern knowledge emerged through dynamic interactions between local realities and worldwide systems of circulation.

For online registration contact: marco.ambrosi@uclouvain.be

For the complete programme and info: https://tinyurl.com/34k37dcd