Faithful Narratives:
The Challenge of Religion in History
[Forum on Religion and Scholarship]
(click here to learn about the Forum on Religion and Scholarship)
A co-sponsored lecture series with the Department of History and Center for Jewish Studies at University of Florida)
Select dates throughout the 2008-09 academic year
(see fall 08 schedule below)
Description
Despite the apparent triumph of secularism and postmodernism,
religious concepts and language lie at
the foundation of political, scientific, and cultural
life as well as many of the conflicts which plague the modern
world. Yet many educated Americans are uncomfortable in
critical discussions of religion due to their unfamiliarity with
the history of those religious traditions and communities that
so influence contemporary realities and discourse. Focusing on
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, this series aims to promote
serious discussion of history and religion in light of a paradox
of American culture: an increasing public religiosity juxtaposed
to a diminished understanding of religion.
(click here for the official website for the series)
Schedule - Fall 2008
September 16: Susanna Elm (Berkeley)
“Pagan Challenge and Christian Response: Towards a New Rome”
October 6: Carlos Eire (Yale)
“When Miracles Ceased: The Protestant Reformation and the Disenchantment of the World”
Pugh Hall, room 170 (Auditorium)
Note: Eire will also speak at an informal session at the Christian Study Center on Tuesday, October 7 at 4:30pm.
November 12: David Nirenberg (University of Chicago)
“Sibling Rivalries: Judaism, Christianity, Islam”
7:30pm, Pugh Hall 170 (Auditorium)
Click here for Nirenberg flier - pdf
December 1: David Ruderman (University of Pennsylvania)
“The People and the Book: The Invention of Print and the Transformation of Jewish Culture”
*times and locations to be determined
Spring 2009
January 12: Peter Brown (Princeton University)
“Between Syria and Egypt: Alms, Works, and the Origins of Christian Monasticism”
February 23: Michael Signer (University of Notre Dame)
“Biblical Truth and Consequences: Intellectual Rivalries between Jews and Christians in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance”
March 2: John Van Engen (University of Notre Dame)
“Free Spirits, Lay Religion, and Clerical Suspicion: Inside the Late Medieval Church”
March 30: Lamin Sanneh (Yale University)
“The Return of Religion in Africa”