Director of research: Prof. Monique Vénuat

The team is concerned with interdisciplinary research centered on studying and analysing texts from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. The programme was started in 1982, having as its major theme "Tradition and Innovation in Sciences, Religion and Society in the 16th and 17th centuries". Subsequently, the period of reference was extended to include the early 18th century. As a result of their interest in polemics, several members of the original teams have edited and published various texts with up to date critical references. Their importance in relation to the development of the Renaissance mind has been wideley acknowledged.

The team is currently working on the polemical diversity of the period with regard to political, philosophical, social and economic aspects, and simultaneously on problems of representation (the many aspects of literary inspiration). Among the fields which have been investigated, are: the successive stages of the European Reformation with its many controversies; Occultism and Hermetism in the Elizabethan period, and all the religious, political and philosophical aspects up to the beginning of the 18th century - the sectaries, Millenarianism, the Cambridge Platonists -, the fluctuations of ideas on the Monarchy. Among the authors dealt with: Thomas More, Shakespeare, John Milton, the 16th and 17th century dramatists -this list not being exhaustive.

Apart from several publishers, associations and periodicals, the Centre has facilities for publishing papers in the periodical Réforme, Humanisme, Renaissance (Lyon) and also has its own collection, the Cahiers du Centre Réforme et Contre-Réforme, Presses Blaise Pascal, Université de Clermont II; five issues have been published to date, the latest a collection of papers by the Centre’s PhD students.

The team also favours exchanges and meetings of researchers belonging to several disciplines and several countries, with different backgrounds or critical approaches. Through its DEA (Pre-Doctoral Studies) course "Renaissance et Age Classique", taught in association with the University of St Etienne, it contributes to the formation of young researchers. Members work in association with the other teams in the C.E.R.H.A.C. (C.I.B.P. and EQUI.L. XVI) and with other academic teams.

A symposium on "Theology and Politics" was organised together with the C.I.B.P. (3-4 May 1996, chairman: Laurent Jaffro). Proceedings were published as Figures du Théologico-politique, coll. "Problèmes et Controverses", Vrin, 1999.

A second symposium on "Theology and Politics" will be held in the spring of 2002.

The team also participated with the C.H.E.C. in the organisation of the international conference "De Michel de l’Hospital à l’Edit de Nantes : Politique et Religion face aux Eglises" (Politics, Religion and the Churches), Clermont-Fd 18-20 June 1998, with the R.H.R. ("Réforme, Humanisme, Renaissance", University of Lyon II and University of St-Etienne) in another international conference, "Formes du Millénarisme à l’aube des Temps Modernes" (Millenarianism in the Early Modern Period), held in Marseille 11-13 September 1998, the proceedings of which are about to be published, and with EQU.I.L. XVI, in the international conference "Penser la Nuit".

Several members of the team participate regularly in the seminaries organised by UPRES A 5037, uniting scholars from the universities of Clermont II, Lyon II and St-Etienne. The research theme for 1996-98 was "Resort to Scripture in Controversy or Conciliation" (Chairman: Dr. Louison-Lassablière). Proceedings have been published by the Publications de l’Université de St-Etienne.

In 1998-2000 it was "Translation in the Renaissance and the Classical Age" (Chairman: Dr. Viallon-Schoneveld).

In 2000-02 it will be "The notion of Period in the Renaissance and the Classical Age" (Chairman: Dr. Groult).

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