MiMoRa: Mission and Modernity Research Academy

MiMoRa wants to re-invigorate international research on missionaries by bringing together scholars and methodologies; stimulating research in collections and sources; and generating new research projects and publications. It aims at bringing together expertise, steer it towards new thematic frontiers by providing a forum for academic debate and creating new networks for young scholars across the globe. KU Leuven has a long research tradition in the field of missionaries and also hosts unique and internationally relevant collections (archives and libraries). MiMoRA is coordinated by KADOC, the interfaculty Documentation and Research Center on Religion Culture and Society at KU Leuven.

By means of an open call for papers, MiMoRa wants to invite young scholars – about half from Europe and about half from the Global South – and host them in Leuven. On the one hand, they will be acquainted with the Leuven missionary sources. During a workshop, they will be introduced to the Leuven collections, the research tools (LIAS, Limo, ODIS, …) and the Leuven expertise. Participants will be able to consult the sources relevant for their own cases, such as the archives of Jesuits, Capuchins, Franciscans, Dominicans, and Scheut, as well as many periodicals and books in English, French, Spanish and local languages. On the other hand, the invited scholars will present and discuss their work during a seminar, together with a number of invited guest-speakers.

More information can be found here