Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate participated in several contexts at the 16th Biennial Conference for the International Society for Religion, Literature and Culture held Oct. 19-21 in Copenhagen. Plate presented a work-in-progress titled “Celebrating the Celluloid, Celestial City: The Presence and Absence of Sacred Space on Film.”

Using studies on space by Yi-Fu Tuan and other human geographers, Plate looked at the construction of urban space in several films, exploring the use of “sacred spaces” within the urban landscapes of films like Metropolis, Kiki's Delivery Service, Robots and others.

Plate has organized the “religion and film” sections of the conference for 10 years. This year, he oversaw several panels on those topics, bringing together scholars from across North America, Europe and Asia. He has served on the Society’s international advisory board for the past six years. The conference meets in various locations across Europe.