March 26-27, 2026

The annual Orality & Literacy conference at Geneva College, inspired by Walter J. Ong’s The Presence of the Word and Orality & Literacy, invites us to ask what are words and how do words work in the life of the soul? Written words and spoken words address us differently in spirit. Different religious ecclesiology’s privilege the written word over the spoken word with dramatic differences in how humans understand religious experience. As media scholars have observed, the book tends to individuate experience whereas a speech produces a sense of corporate belonging and affinity either for or against what is being said. Such questions are what we invite panelists to address at next year’s conference considering how human interactions are formed and cultivated depending on a bias for written or spoken words. Most importantly we will consider how this bias shapes our understanding of what is true, and how the desire to know truth mirrors the deepest longings of the soul.

Call for Submissions

• 300-500 word abstract with a bibliography
• Word document or PDF
• All author identification must be removed
• Indicate any A/V equipment needs

Registration Coming Soon

Location:

Geneva College | 3200 College Ave. Beaver Falls, PA 15010

Registration Pricing:

• $125 per guest (General Admission), Includes a dinner banquet plus breakfast, lunch and wrap-up dinner (Friday)
• $75 for Graduate Students (Any College)
• Geneva College faculty (PT or FT) have their fee covered by the Lilly Foundation
• Geneva Students (No fee)

Lodging:

• Microtel can provide conference-goers a Geneva rate of about $95 + tax

Contact:

Dr. Jonathan Watt

Professor of English at Geneva College

Phone: 724-847-6725

Email: jwatt@geneva.edu