Transforming Matter

Workshop, Messina (IT), 28-29 April 2026.

What does it mean for matter to change? This question lies at the centre of medieval natural philosophy, but it was never confined to a single field. Questions of material transformation were addressed in medieval metaphysics, medicine, alchemy, logic, and the study of animals, often with different methods and different conclusions. This workshop brings those perspectives into dialogue.

Transforming Matter is a joint initiative of the University of Messina and the Université catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, co-organised by Nicola Polloni and Grégory Clesse. It brings together specialists working across different areas of medieval thought to examine how the concept of matter, its nature, its capacities, and its limits, was articulated, contested, and transformed in texts ranging from Aristotelian commentaries to alchemical treatises, from medical compendia to logical analyses of change. The workshop will take place in Messina on 28 and 29 April 2026.

Organisers: Grégory Clesse (UC Louvain), Nicola Polloni (Università di Messina).

Speakers: TBC.

attendance

The workshop will take place in Room H of the Dipartimento di Civiltà Antiche e Moderne at the University of Messina. All are welcome to attend.

PROGRAMME

All times are in Central European Summer Time (CEST).

28 April 2026

TBC

29 April 2026

TBC