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Life Forms in the Thinking of the Long Eighteenth Century A conference honoring the work of Peter H. Reill
A conference at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library —organized by Professors Jenna Gibbs, Florida International University and Keith Baker, Stanford University
Friday April 27th & Saturday April 28th	This two day conference to honor Professor Peter Reill and his distinguished scholarship in the field of Enlightenment studies will comprise four panels thematically organized around the enduring concerns that shape his interpretive vision: life forms in Enlightenment historical, vitalist, and esoteric thinking in the long eighteenth century. The first panel will entail a re-examination of the nature and structures of Enlightenment historical thought and the centrality of Enlightenment historicism to the formation of a modern understanding of history. Two panels on vitalism and its translations will investigate the application of vitalist epistemology—derived from a biological model of goal-directed living forces—to political economy, natural history, and civil society. The conference will conclude with a final panel on esotericism and the Enlightenment. It will explore the significance of alchemical, hermetical, and occult thought for Enlightenment thinkers and will challenge the bifurcation often made by scholars between esotericism and magic, on the one hand, and "rational" scientific Enlightenment experiment, observation, and theory, on the other.	–Registration form

	Registration Deadline: April 20, 2012 Please click here for a printable registration form. Registration Fees: $20 per person; UC faculty & staff, students with ID: no charge* All students, UC faculty and staff may register via e-mail by sending their name, affiliation and phone number to c1718cs@humnet.ucla.edu Students should be prepared to provide their current University ID at the conference. Complimentary lunch and other refreshments are provided to all registrants. Please be aware that space at the Clark is limited and that registration closes when capacity is reached. Confirmation will be sent via email.*

Friday, April 27th	Program Schedule: Updated 4-24-12 Wolfgang Pross no longer participating
9:30 a.m.	Morning Coffee and Registration
10:00 a.m.	Gerald Cloud, University of California, Los Angeles Welcome Jenna Gibbs, Florida International University and Keith Baker, Stanford University Opening Remarks Session I: History and Society Chair: David Myers, University of California, Los Angeles Kent Wright, Arizona State University Rousseau and the Anti-Historicists: Strauss and Althusser Martin Gierl, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Johann Christoph Gatterer and History as a Science
12:45 p.m.	Lunch
2:15 p.m.	Session II: Vitalism and its Political Translations Chair: Kirstie McClure, University of California, Los Angeles Kris Pangburn, Colorado College Vitalist Natural Philosophy in the Political Thought of John Stuart Mill and Wilhelm von Humboldt Helena Rosenblatt, The Graduate Center, City University of New York The Liberal Mysticism of Madame de Staël Keith Baker, Stanford University Was Marat a Vitalist?
5:00 p.m.	Reception
Saturday, April 28th
9:30 a.m.	Morning Coffee
10:00 a.m.	Session III: Vitalism and Cultural Translations Chair: Jenna Gibbs, Florida International University Frédéric Ogée, Université Paris Diderot ‘That infinite variety of human forms’: The New Epistemology, Modern Identity and English Portraiture in the Enlightenment John Zammito, Rice University From Vital Materialism to Naturphilosophie: The Question of Historical Continuity Amanda Jo Goldstein, University of Wisconsin-Madison William Blake and the Time of Ontogeny
12:30 p.m.	Lunch
2:00 p.m.	Session IV: Esotericism Chair: David Sabean, University of California, Los Angeles Clorinda Donato, California State University, Long Beach Esoteric Reason and Occult Science; Seamless Pursuits in the Work and Networks of Raimondo di Sangro, the Prince of San Severo Renko Geffarth, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg The Preaching Philosopher: Andreas Weber (1718–1781) between Wolffian Philosophy and Heterodox Theology
3:45 p.m.	Peter Reill: Concluding remarks