Religion and Spirituality (Audio): Recent Episodes
UCTV
Americans enjoy a multiplicity of religious traditions. Explore both traditional religions, and what it means to be spiritual in a rapidly changing and diversifying religious world.
What does it mean to rethink religion from the ground up? University of Colorado's religious studies professor Sam Gill draws on biology, philosophy, and decades of research and dance practice to argue that we are moving, whole organisms before we are divided into mind and body. Gill proposes that humans possess a biologically enabled capacity to hold together what we know to be different as if it were the same—a dynamic that underlies the powers of metaphor, masking, dancing, ritual action, symbol, and language. Through vivid examples from Hopi initiation, Javanese shadow puppetry and dance, and Navajo prayer ceremonials, Gill shows how religious actions create worlds, identities, and enduring cultural coherence. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 41541]
Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben has helped shape how the world understands climate change. In this conversation with Marco Werman, host of The World, McKibben offers a clear-eyed look at the climate crisis and the solutions that could help reduce the damage of a warming planet.As part of the Burke Lectureship at UC San Diego, McKibben also explores the moral and spiritual questions at the heart of climate change. More than three decades after The End of Nature brought climate change to a broad audience, his work continues to connect science, ethics, and grassroots action, including the global climate campaign 350.org and the fossil fuel divestment movement. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41265]
Indigenous Studies, UCLA. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 41294]
A collaborative effort examines how organizations confront religious intolerance, focusing on antisemitism and Islamophobia. It maps an ecosystem of practices across individual, community, and structural levels. Using surveys, interviews, and existing research, the project documents what people and organizations do and why. Approaches include education and skills training; supports for healing and wellbeing; bridging divisions, leadership, coalitions, safer online spaces, and civic engagement; work on policy and law; research and evaluation that advance evidence-based programs; and storytelling that promotes inclusion while challenging hateful speech. Together, these efforts clarify how combined work builds belonging, trust, understanding, and accountability. Findings are shared to help communities adapt effective practices locally, including on campus and across the region. The goal is to support practical, adaptable strategies that cultivate safer, more inclusive environments. [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 40703]
How should federal governments attempt to right, or at least remedy, past wrongs? Is it appropriate for victims of group-based harms or their descendants to press current generations to atone for the sins of their predecessors? Grace Kao, Professor of Ethics and the inaugural Sano Chair in Pacific and Asian American Theology at Claremont School of Theology, explores these questions by drawing upon the emerging human rights standard for reparations, theological resources from her Presbyterian faith tradition, and four case-studies of acknowledged wrongdoing against AAPI communities. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 40876]
Is sacred space protective space? This question lies at the heart of the Sanctuary Movement. From the 1980s to the present, this practice has protected undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation by offering them refuge in churches, where federal immigration agents to this day still fear to tread. In this lecture, Lloyd Barba, Assistant Professor of Religion and Core Faculty in Latinx and Latin American Studies at Amherst College, asks how these houses of worship in the 1980s protected migrants from immigration enforcement authorities. What histories and testimonies rendered such spaces sacred and lent houses of worship qualities of safe refuge? And what is the applicability of these practices today? Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 40877]
What paradoxes arise when victims of related persecution tell their stories next to, and after, each other? This question is at the heart of Ari Joskowicz’s highly acclaimed book “Rain of Ash,” which examines the unlikely entanglement of the histories of Jews and Romani people—the only two racialized groups the Nazis targeted for wholesale extermination. Joskowicz, professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University, explores the encounters between Jews and Romani people on the killing fields of Europe and seeks to understand how survivors and historians have discussed Romani and Jewish suffering during World War II in relational terms. Series: "Library Channel" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40533]
John A. Pérez, Regent Emeritus of the University of California, sits down with Robert Williams, Ph.D., CEO and Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, for a critical conversation about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. They explore how history shapes present-day challenges, the dangers of misinformation, and the role of higher education in confronting hate. Drawing on lessons from the Holocaust and other historical atrocities, they discuss the urgent need for courage and action to combat antisemitism. Series: "Education Channel" [Humanities] [Education] [Show ID: 40249]
Through a focus on Spanish-speaking Catholics, Amanda Baugh sheds light on environmental actors hiding in plain sight. Drawing from ethnographic research conducted across Los Angeles, Baugh, Professor and Associate Chair of Religious Studies and Director of the MA Program in Sustainability at California State University, Northridge, demonstrates that minority communities are not merely victims of environmental problems. Instead, many Spanish-speaking Catholics embrace what Baugh calls “la tierra environmentalism,” an embodied ethic of living lightly on the Earth that is rooted in a sense of love and respect for God, fellow humans, and the rest of God’s creation. A focus on la tierra environmentalism challenges scholars and activists to rethink who counts as environmental leaders and what counts as environmentalism. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40423]
Community Chair of Religious Studies at UC Riverside, talks about who these nuns are and why they keep rankling the right and delighting the left. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40374]
The modern world is not disenchanted. On the contrary, it is full of gods and heroes and myths and magic. In this talk, Philip Gorski sketches out a new narrative of Western modernity that can account for this state of affairs: the fragmentation of the sacred. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39810]
As part of a special series celebrating the legacy of humanist and professor Walter H. Capps, this program examines Capps’ scholarly contributions and the study of religion today, featuring renowned scholars of religion who were Walter’s graduate students: Tomoko Masuzawa, Professor Emerita of History and Comparative Literature, University of Michigan, Julie Ingersoll, Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Florida, and Sarah McFarland Taylor, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Northwestern University. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 39707]
As part of a special series celebrating the legacy of humanist and professor Walter H. Capps, this program examines Capps’ scholarly contributions and the study of religion today, featuring renowned scholars of religion who were Walter’s graduate students: Edward Linenthal, Professor Emeritus of History, Indiana University Bloomington and Wendy M. Wright, Professor Emerita of Theology, Creighton University. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 39706]
In this program, Lerone Martin, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, discusses his recent book, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover, which reveals how Hoover and his FBI teamed up with leading white evangelicals and Catholics to bring about a white Christian America by any means necessary. His research draws on thousands of newly declassified FBI documents, including a civil lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for FBI files on Billy Graham. Martin takes readers from the pulpits and pews of small-town America to the Oval Office, and from the grassroots to denominational boardrooms. In this talk, Martin transforms how we understand the FBI, white evangelicalism, and our nation’s entangled history of religion and politics. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39809]
Prominent journalist E.J. Dionne, known for his op-eds in The Washington Post and essays in Commonweal Magazine, advocates for bridging societal divides by addressing issues like social isolation and loneliness. As part of the Burke Lectureship at UC San Diego, Dionne, a distinguished professor at Georgetown University, invites audiences to contemplate solutions transcending political boundaries. Joining Dionne is Dean Nelson, journalism professor at Point Loma Nazarene University, and Edward Watts, history professor at UC San Diego. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39522]
What role do the humanities - history, art, philosophy, language, religion - play in the modern world? Prominent leaders of humanities organizations discuss the contributions of noted humanist and professor Walter H. Capps and the value of the humanities today. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39705]
Among the most striking exhibits at the Auschwitz museum are undoubtedly the mountains of loot stolen from Jews murdered upon arrival. Shoes, suitcases, spectacles, and more fill entire rooms in the former barracks of the main camp. Surviving the Shoah when their owners did not, they constitute a potent proof of the Nazis’ abiding concern with material gain. In this talk, author and historian Peter Hayes traces the ways by which the German corporate world became deeply implicated in—and in many respects indispensable to—the Nazi regime’s persecution, exploitation, and murder of Europe’s Jews. He argues that these developments stemmed inexorably from decisions made and actions taken by the nation’s leading corporate executives in 1933, at the very outset of Nazi rule.Hayes is author or editor of 13 books, including the best-selling “Das Amt und die Vergangenheit” and “Why? Explaining the Holocaust,” which has been translated into several foreign languages including German, Slovak, Spanish, and Chinese. He is currently completing (with Stephan Lindner of Munich) “Profits and Persecution: German Big Business, the Nazi Economy, and the Holocaust.” Series: "Library Channel" [Humanities] [Show ID: 38423]
Political philosopher and Harvard professor Michael Sandel talks about his latest book, "The Tyranny of Merit: Can We Find the Common Good?" Sandel reflects deeply on the fundamental moral principles behind our political institutions and democratic society. His books on justice, democracy, ethics, and markets have been translated into more than 30 languages. He has been described as “a rock star moralist” and “the world’s most influential living philosopher.” Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 38718]
Cornel West, Ph.D., is a prominent and provocative intellectual. He is Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary and has written 20 books and edited 13. He's best known for his classics, "Race Matters and Democracy Matters," and for his memoir, "Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud." His most recent book, "Black Prophetic Fire," offers an unflinching look at nineteenth- and twentieth-century African American leaders and their visionary legacies. As part of the annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea, director of Point Loma Nazarene University's journalism program Dean Nelson has an engaging and inspiring conversation with West about his lifelong work as a theologian, civil rights activist and author. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 37097]
Jesuit priest and editor at large of America Magazine, Father James Martin, SJ, talks about his personal journey ministering to the LGBTQ community. For Martin, working with people on the margins, walking with the excluded, has always been part of his Jesuit life. Early in his career, he began writing about the LGBTQ community because he felt these were people in the church who had very few people to advocate for them. Then, after the 2016 nightclub massacre in Florida, he was deeply concerned about the lack of public support from Catholic bishops which inspired him to write a book, “Building a Bridge,” emphasizing the simple but life-changing tenets of respect, compassion, and sensitivity.
Martin is the best-selling author of “Jesus: A Pilgrimage, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything” and “Learning to Pray.” He has written for many publications, including the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and he is a regular commentator in the national and international media. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 37861]
David Beckmann reviews what we've learned from the Poverty, God & Politics series, talks about the students in his UC Berkeley class, and thanks the people—about 3,000 a week—who have watched webcasts and read the companion blog posts. He stresses the importance of advocacy with Congress this year and active participation in next year's elections. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36998]
Eugene Cho, president of Bread for the World, explains how this nationwide Christian citizens' movement repeatedly wins large-scale change for people struggling with hunger in this country and around the world. He concludes with Bread's current campaign to strengthen U.S. support for progress against child malnutrition worldwide.
Eugene is introduced by David Beckmann, who served as president until a year ago. These two leaders are different in many ways and Eugene is leading Bread for the World in new directions. But they are clearly united in faith and in deep appreciation for the people and congregations across the country who persistently urge their members of Congress to help hungry people. Eugene spoke to David's class in March 2021, an intense period of anti-Asian hate crimes. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36997]
John Carr provides a witty and incisive assessment of the liabilities and strengths of the Catholic community and its role in the politics of poverty. Its strengths include the leadership of Pope Francis and the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching. Carr is director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Teaching and Public Life at Georgetown University. Their educational programs are influential among Catholics in the United States and extend to thousands of people around the world. John previously served for more than two decades as director of the department that works on issues of peace, justice, and international development for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. John and David Beckmann have worked together for many years and are close friends. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36996]
Tom Hart, acting CEO and North American Executive Director of the ONE Campaign, explains how a strong advocacy community, including people of faith and faith-based organizations, have helped to reduce poverty, hunger, and disease around the world over the last generation. David Beckmann and Tom Hart open and close with lively discussions of two advocacy campaigns—debt relief for poor countries in the year 2000 and global child nutrition right now. Tom concludes with ambitious proposals to address the still-raging COVID pandemic and its consequences in low-income countries. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36995]
Many faith bodies and faith-related groups organize legislative advocacy. Amy Reumann, director of Witness and Society for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), explains how the ELCA's legislative advocacy is rooted in faith and theology, collective study of policy concerns, and ELCA ministries at the local, national, and international levels. The ELCA, its churches, and people are active in advocacy with state governments, the United Nations, and corporations as well as with the federal government. Whenever possible, they bring powerful decision-makers into conversations with the people and organizations that the ELCA and its people know through their on-the-ground ministries—homeless people, for example, or local churches in Central America. ELCA congregations bring people from all across the political spectrum together in worship, fellowship, and study. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36994]
Anna Eng, a senior organizer for the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), explains from experience how faith-based community organizing works. David Beckmann argues that the faith-based community organizing movement has contributed to increasing political participation among low-income Americans. He also talks about the Poor People's Campaign and the positive impact of social media. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36993]
Anna Eng, a senior organizer for the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), explains from experience how faith-based community organizing works. David Beckmann argues that the faith-based community organizing movement has contributed to increasing political participation among low-income Americans. He also talks about the Poor People's Campaign and the positive impact of social media. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36993]
Galen Carey, Vice President for Government Relations for the National Association of Evangelicals, explains the Evangelical movement, its ministries to people in poverty, and its relationship to politics. Then David Beckmann probes how it's possible that most White Christians, including a large majority of White Evangelicals, voted repeatedly for Donald Trump. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36992]
Eric Sapp, a pioneer in the use of digital communications for good purposes, explains uses of digital technology to repair the divide between the Democratic Party and many faith-based voters, to communicate with vaccine-hesitant people, and to counter Russian digital propaganda. He stresses the importance of really listening to people. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36991]
Henry Brady, Dean of Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, draws a data-based picture of how religious attendance affects politics. Churchgoers tend to be more charitable and engaged in civic organizations than other Americans. But they tend to prefer elections and negotiations to conflict and protests -- even though conflict is important in overcoming the country’s deep racial and economic divisions. In general, churchgoers are much more inclined than other Americans to be pro-life and anti-gay and, since the 1980s, increasingly inclined to vote Republican. Brady talks briefly about his own religious and philosophical development. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36990]
Rev. Gabriel Salguero, Founder and President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NALEC), explains the religious and political diversity among Latinos. Although Latinos are an important source of support for immigration reform, it is not a top priority political issue for most Latinos. Salguero explains how NALEC has amplified the voice of Latino evangelicals on immigration and other poverty-related issues. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36989]
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner and U.S. Representative Barbara Lee speak from the heart about how the Black Church has helped to build African American electoral power. It’s a powerful story with practical lessons for present times. Dr. Williams-Skinner is head of the Skinner Institute and Co-convener of the African American Clergy Network. Rep. Lee represents Berkeley, California. She is a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and now Chair of the House of Representatives’ foreign affairs appropriations subcommittee. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36988]
Hear remarks by Joshua Dickson to Berkeley's graduate seminar "Poverty and Communities of Faith in the Politics of 2021," taught by David Beckmann. Josh was the National Faith Engagement Director of the Biden-Harris campaign and is now Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Josh discusses the importance of persuading, mobilizing, and listening to faith voters; presents data on voting patterns across faith groups; and explains the Biden-Harris campaign's commitment and strategy to reach voters in diverse faith communities. He shows how an electoral campaign translated faith-grounded concerns into a dramatic shift in public policy to the benefit of people in poverty. He joins students in his unofficial, personal capacity, and not as a White House representative. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36987]
Experts address altered states of the mind that are deliberately induced by humans. We will address what is known about origins and mechanisms of these mind-altering practices. In doing so, we hope to gain new insights into the origins and workings of the human mind. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 36670]
Experts address altered states of the mind that are deliberately induced by humans. We will address what is known about origins and mechanisms of these mind-altering practices. In doing so, we hope to gain new insights into the origins and workings of the human mind. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 36673]
David Beckmann explains the purpose of his “Poverty, God, Politics” series—to highlight spiritual and political strategies that can move us from the current crisis in a way that puts us on track to end hunger and poverty. They are drawn from a joint seminar on poverty, communities of faith, and politics cosponsored by UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.
David then discusses two foundational insights from his years as president of Bread for the World—that dramatic progress against poverty is possible, and that faith communities can help change the politics of poverty. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36986]
Barry Scott Wimpfheimer specializes in the Talmud and other Rabbinic Literature. His work focuses on the Babylonian Talmud as a work of law and literature. Part scripture and part commentary, it is written in a hybrid of Hebrew and Aramaic and is an unlikely bestseller. The Talmud has remained in print for centuries and is more popular today than ever. Barry Scott Wimpfheimer discusses his book, The Talmud, A Biography, which tells the remarkable story of this ancient book and explains why it has endured for almost two millennia. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35805]
Robert Alter discusses his new, complete translation of and commentary on the Hebrew Bible. For the UC Berkeley Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, it represents nearly two and a half decades of work. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35794]
Around the world, individuals and families are fleeing their countries of origin because of war, violence, natural disasters, and climate change. As their numbers swell, host countries face calls to exclude them. Two prominent local religious leaders of especially targeted and vulnerable populations Bishop Robert McElroy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center of San Diego speak about a common path forward for our society, based on the wisdom of their respective traditions. In the United States, recent political decisions and governmental policies have worsened the prospects of both those seeking to immigrate legally as well as the millions of undocumented immigrants already here or those still coming. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35228]
A discussion of constructive and effective ways to bring youth, community leaders, and organizations together to overcome divisiveness and polarization and build a stronger, more tolerant, and inclusive society. Series: "Global Empowerment Summit" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35331]
The former editor of Poetry Magazine, Christian Wiman is both a poet and an essayist who teaches Literature and Religion at Yale Divinity School. In an interview he discussed what he hopes readers might take from his work: I have no illusions about adding to sophisticated theological thinking. But I think there are a ton of people out there who are what you might call unbelieving believers, people whose consciousness is completely modern and yet who have this strong spiritual hunger in them. I would like to say something helpful to those people.
His most recent book is He Held Radical Light: The Art of Faith, the Faith of Art, released in 2018. Other books include My Bright Abyss, Ambition and Survival, Every Riven Thing, Hammer is the Prayer, Hard Night, and The Long Home. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33947]
The ancient Buddhist sources have a great deal to say about what it means to be a biological man or woman, what it means to be gendered male and female, what kinds of desires and sexual practices are considered normative, and what kinds deviate. But this material is scattered throughout hundreds of different texts and is found in no single source. Drawing on decades of research into the classical Indian and Tibetan Buddhist texts - and on the extensive literature on ancient theories of "queerness" - Jose Cabezon traces the life of a man and woman from conception to death, in the process laying bare Buddhist assumptions about what it means to be normal and abnormal and why these issues were so important to ancient authors. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34403]
A gene drive is a targeted contagion intended to spread within species, forever altering the offspring. Gene drive enthusiasts say they could wipe out malaria, saving more than half a million lives each year. As yet, no CRISPR gene drive has been released in the wild — few have even been built. Laurie Zoloth of the University of Chicago explores the ethical questions about genes designed to spread through populations and alter ecosystems, and their unforeseen consequences. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 34183]
Author, Tova Mirvis reads from her memoir, The Book of Separation, which describes a woman who leaves her Orthodox Jewish faith and her marriage and sets out to navigate the terrifying, liberating terrain of a newly mapless world. She is the author of three novels and her essays have appeared in various anthologies and newspapers. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34065]
Father Gregory Boyle, Jesuit priest and bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart, is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. He shares a thought about justice in a world where kinship among all people flourishes. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34035]
Rabbi Prof. Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is an award-winning editor, author, and biblical scholar. She is the Chief Editor of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, the winner (with Dr. Andrea Weiss) of the 2008 Jewish Book of the Year Award. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33661]
Rev. Traci Blackmon is the Executive Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, MO. A featured voice with many regional, national, & international media outlets and contributor to print publications, her communal leadership & healing work in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown, Jr., in Ferguson, MO has gained her both national & international recognition and audiences, from the White House to the Carter Center to the Vatican. She was appointed to the Ferguson Commission by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon & to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships for the White House by President Barack Obama. Rev Blackmon's mission is an expanded understanding of church as a sacred launching pad of community engagement and change. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 33456]
What is spirituality and spiritual health? How can we effectively assess our own spirituality and identify spiritual distress in ourselves and others? Douglas Ziedonis, MD, MPH, Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego, discusses the link between healthy aging and spirituality. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 33227]
Part of the Humanities as Vocation event at UCSB, features two UCSB alumni talking about their work after their humanities studies. Reza Aslan is a producer and author. He addresses his training, the inspiration behind his creative work and the role the university can play in preparing the next generation of scholars. Tim Kring is a screenwriter and television producer. He tells how his religious studies background influences his productions. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33469]
Father Gregory Boyle, Jesuit priest and bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart, is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. He shares what three decades of working with gang members has taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of kinship. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 32868]
Renowned Tibetan Buddhist scholar and Columbia University Professor Robert A.F. Thurman is joined in conversation by his colleague Isa Gucciardi and UCSF's Eve Ekman and David Bullard. They explore Buddhist understandings about consciousness and death. Series: "Wellbeing " [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 32673]
Author, Tova Mirvis, discusses her book, The Book of Separation, which describes a woman who leaves her Orthodox Jewish faith and her marriage and sets out to navigate the terrifying, liberating terrain of a newly mapless world. She is the author of three novels and her essays have appeared in various anthologies and newspapers. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33053]
David Murphy is Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) San Diego office. In this lecture Murphy shares his insights into the moral and logistical challenges posed by the current world-wide refugee crisis, based on his extensive experience working with the IRC in Africa and Afghanistan. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 32144]
For 15 years, Edina Lekovic has served as a leading voice on American Muslims and an inter-community builder between diverse faith traditions. She explores the negative portrayal of American Muslims in the Media. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 32401]
For 15 years, Edina Lekovic has served as a leading voice on American Muslims and an inter-community builder between diverse faith traditions. She explores the way in which the treatment of American Muslims under the Trump administration could serve as an advanced warning of danger to our very democracy. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 32099]
Bernard-Henri Levy visited the UCSB campus to discuss his new book The Genius of Judaism. In this provocative book he demonstrates that anti-Semitism, constitutes the greatest danger to Jews and non-Jews alike, and to liberal democracies. And, at the same time he offers a challenging argument that the nature or essence of Judaism is located in Talmud and its interpreters, not as an on-going discourse about norms of behavior and structures of belief, but of critical engagement, on-going inquiry, of intellectual, philosophical, and moral challenges, in which Judaism and Jewish identity is to be realized in an obligation to the other, to the dispossessed, to the marginalized. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31923]
How did Zionist immigrants to early 20th century Palestine conceive of their new Arab neighbors, and how did the Arab natives make sense of the Jews arriving on Palestine’s shores? Drawing on his book Defining Neighbors: Religion, Race, and the Early Zionist-Arab Encounter, Jonathan Marc Gribetz argues that this fateful encounter was initially imagined very differently from the way it ultimately developed. The Late Ottoman period in Palestine was no utopia, but exploring this moment reveals that today’s hardened dividing lines are far from timeless; they have a fascinating history. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31660]
Robert Jones, Director of the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington, D.C., is a well-known commentator on religion and politics. He discusses the upcoming presidential election. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 31622]
Author Zohreh Ghahremani talks with Babak Rahimi, associate professor of Communication, Culture and Religion at UC San Diego about the novel, "Sky of Red Poppies," the 2012 selection for One Book, One San Diego. Series: "Writers" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31539]
The multimedia Journey of the Universe project explores some of mankind's most persistent existential questions: What is our purpose? How have the universe, our planet and humanity evolved? Mary Evelyn Tucker proposes that cosmology is the necessary basis for an in-depth examination of the human condition and that useful tools may be found at the intersection of science, art, and humanities, where recent scientific discoveries are leavened and informed with wisdom gleaned through the ages. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31039]
Bashar Matti Warda, a Chaldean Catholic cleric and the current Archbishop of Erbil, speaks on the role that the Christians of northern Iraq are playing in removing ISIS and fostering peace and forgiveness in this long-troubled region. Archbishop Warda is presented by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego. Series: "Peace exChange -- Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31463]
One of the few constants throughout Jewish history is that Jewish identity has never been simple, and the answer to the question of “Who is a Jew?” – far from clear-cut. Rabbi Donniel Hartman, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Israel, says that at key moments over the last 3,000 years, Jews have reinvented or reimagined themselves in the context of their unique reality. Due to the cultural, historical, and psychological transformations that have taken place in the 20th and 21st centuries, this identity is once again at a crossroads. He explores how individual and collective identities throughout the millennia have been understood; how these earlier conceptions shape our understanding of who we are now and who we ought to be in the 21st century. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31308]
Back in 2005, Thomas J. Reese -- who is both a distinguished journalist and a Roman Catholic priest -- lost his job as the editor-in-chief of a leading Jesuit magazine after the Vatican concluded that under his leadership the publication was too often running afoul of official Church doctrine. But that, of course, was before Pope Francis came along who over the last three years has inspired a whole new generation of reform-minded Catholics. In this edition of "Up Next," Reese ponders both the future of his church and the challenges that this 79-year-old pope now faces. Series: "Up Next: Perspectives on the Future of Everything" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31478]
Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of the Israeli Religious Action Center, was a founding member of Women of the Wall as well as a Board member of the Israel Women’s Network, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and many other Israeli organizations for social change. This talk touches on several issues that pertain to the struggle between narrow-minded Judaism and pluralistic Judaism and to the contribution of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) to advance a pluralistic living environment in Jerusalem. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30704]
Islam is a great religious tradition, the second largest and fastest growing of the World’s Religions, embracing some 57 Muslim countries and is the second or third largest religion in Europe and America. Despite the global achievements of Islam as a faith and civilization, since the Iranian Revolution, Islam has been viewed through the lens violence and the actions of militant terrorists. John Esposito, Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown, addresses the questions: Who are Muslims and what do they believe? What do Islam, Judaism and Christianity share in common? Why does it matter? Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30579]
Award-winning actor Michael Douglas and Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky explore the role that faith, religious pluralism and human rights have played in their personal journeys. They discuss their relationship with Judaism to an audience at UC Santa Barbara. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30807]
Renowned scientist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography describes how to find areas of agreement between governments, religious leaders and researchers on difficult issues such as the need to address climate change. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 30184]
Twenty years after the tragic death of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Yoram Peri reflects upon his life as politician, statesman and general, his dedication to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, his leadership in signing the Oslo Accords, and his assassination by a right-wing Jewish extremist. Rabin’s deeply contested legacy – hero versus traitor – reflects the mounting cultural war between liberal, secular Israelis who place great emphasis on Western, democratic values and religious Israelis who believe the Torah and traditional values should guide everyday life. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 30268]
The Egyptians believed Pharaoh to be a god on earth who after his death would fly up to heaven and unite with the sun, his father. After the collapse of the Old Kingdom, this idea of royal immortality became accessible for non-royal persons but dependent on justification before a divine tribunal, the judgment of the dead. Immortality became a question, not of royalty but of morals. Jan Assmann, Professor Emeritus of Egyptology, University of Heidelberg, explores the origins and evolution of these concepts. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30174]
Dr. Carter is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School. Prof. Carter teaches courses in both theology and black church studies. His research focuses on issues of race and religion in modern American life. Dr. Carter’s book is entitled Race: A Theological Account, published by Oxford University Press in 2008. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 29972]
Robert Pogue Harrison is the chairman of the Department of French and Italian at Stanford University, and the author of several critically acclaimed books, including "The Dominion of the Dead," which examines the complicated ways that the living relate to the dead. In this edition of "Up Next," Harrison discusses the declining fortunes of the dead in modern society and what that decline says about our future. Series: "Up Next: Perspectives on the Future of Everything" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30068]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Jan Assmann, Honorary Professor of Cultural and Religious Studies at the University of Constance, for a discussion of his career as a Egyptologist and scholar of comparative religions. After reflections on his formative years in a German medieval town suffering from the ravages of World War II and its aftermath, Assmann describes the community of Egyptologists and the intellectual influences that shaped his scholarship. He also characterizes the intellectual joys and hardships of field research in ancient tombs. Finally, he touches on some of the themes of his scholarship including the evolution of ideas that characterize religious change; comparison of Moses and Akhenaten; and the importance of writing, canonization, and exegesis to cultural memory and the resilience and survival of religions. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30173]
Leon Wieseltier discusses the remarks he made at an international conference on “Zionism in the 21st Century: Contemporary Perspectives From and About Israel” that had brought together many scholars to discuss the topic. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30024]
M. Hakan Yavuz is a professor of political science at the University of Utah. His current academic work focuses on transnational Islamic networks in Central Asia and Turkey; the role of Islam in state-building and nationalism; ethnic cleansing and genocide; and ethno-religious conflict management. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 29163]
Out of all the figures in the Bible, David is one of the most perplexing and enigmatic. Rabbi David Wolpe takes a fresh look at the biblical David in an attempt to find coherence in his seemingly contradictory actions and impulses. David Wolpe, Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, California is the author of national best-sellers such as “Why Faith Matters” and “Making Loss Matter: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times.” Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 29249]
Richard Gaillardetz is an American theologian specializing in questions relating to Catholic ecclesiology and the structures of authority in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2000 Dr. Gaillardetz received the Sophia Award from the faculty of the Washington Theological Union in recognition of “theological excellence in service to ministry,” and he has received numerous awards from the Catholic Press Association for his occasional pieces. He is currently the Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 28828]
Peter Brown is the Rollins Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton and the leading historian of the early history of Christianity in late antiquity. His Burke Lecture, "Constantine, Eusebius, and the Future of Christianity," delves, with surprising results, into the thinking of the first Christian Roman emperor and his theological advisor on how church and state should relate. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 28510]
The Holocaust claimed anywhere between 500,000 and 1.5 million Romani lives, a tragedy the Romani people and Sinti refer to as the Porrajmos, or “the Devouring.” Notwithstanding the scope of the catastrophe, the Romani genocide was often ignored or minimized until Ian Hancock and others exposed this misfortune. A Romani-born British citizen, activist, and scholar, Hancock has done more than anyone to raise awareness about the Romani people during World War II. Now a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Hancock is presented here as part of the Holocaust Living History Workshop, a partnership between Judaic Studies at UCSD and the UC San Diego Library. Series: "Library Channel" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 28100]
Are all religions simply different ways up the same mountain? Or is the key to religious tolerance found in better understanding differences? In “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World,” New York Times best-selling author and religion scholar Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve. Delving into the different problems and solutions that Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, Daoism and Atheism strive to combat, provides a guide to the questions human beings have asked for millennia—and to the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 28045]
Scott Appleby, the director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, examines the roots of religious violence and the potential of religious peace-building in this talk presented by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego. Religious scholars Linelle Cady and Joseph Montville follow with commentary on Appleby’s presentation Series: "Peace exChange -- Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 27748]
Drawing on fieldwork in new charismatic evangelicals churches in the Bay Area and in Accra, Ghana, Tanya Luhrmann, Stanford University, explores the way that cultural ideas about mind and person alter prayer practice and the experience of God. Luhrmann's work focuses on the way that objects without material presence come to seem real to people, and the way that ideas about the mind affect mental experience. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 26087]
On the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, John Connelly, author of “From Enemy to Brother: The Revolution in Catholic Teaching on the Jews, 1933-1965,” and David Nirenberg, author of “Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition” explore the character of medieval anti-Judaism and the historical changes within Catholic Christianity prior to the mid-twentieth century. They also assess the significance of the Council and its impact on Catholic and Jewish relations to the present. John Connelly is professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley and David Nirenberg is distinguished professor of Medieval History and Social Thought at The University of Chicago. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 25433]
Performance of the exorcism rite has been on the rise in recent years. Thomas Csordas endeavors to to understand this development on the level of therapeutic process in terms of how it may genuinely relieve affliction, and on the level of culture as a conservative discourse on evil at large in the contemporary world. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 25301]
James Kugel, director of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University, argues that the Hebrew Bible was, from the beginning, the Interpreted Bible. In the third and second centuries B.C.E. – well before the last books of the Bible were written – groups of interpreters were puzzling over the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Esau, and other ancient figures. Their interpretations were often fanciful, and sometimes wildly inventive, but their grasp of the very idea of the Bible is still with us and continues to influence today’s readers. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 24917]
For Jews and for Judaism the twentieth century brought unprecedented suffering and incredible achievements – but as a new century gets going, their role in the future is up for grabs. Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation of the Commonwealth, refutes the arguments for isolationism and the self-sufficiency of “people that dwell alone” that have proven so tempting through history, instead making the case that Jews and Judaism must renew their sense of hope and purpose to engage positively with the developing global culture. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 24414]
Leon Wieseltier is an American writer, critic, and longstanding literary editor of The New Republic. In this UC Berkeley Forester lecture, he discusses the Jewish belief in a Messiah. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 24599]
The discovery of evolution implies a profound revolution in human thinking and action. Ursula King, Professor Emerita of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol, explores the implications of this new consciousness for religion, society, and consciousness. She describes the work of the French paleontologist and religious thinker Pierre Teilhard de Chardin who sought a new spirituality for a world in evolution. His prophetic thought about “the planetization of humanity” – what is called “globalization” today – relates to global interdependence in all areas of human endeavor, and bears on contemporary discussions about ecological and evolutionary spiritualities as well as international peace and social justice. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 24413]
American Catholics blend personal autonomy, skepticism toward the church hierarchy’s teaching authority, and commitment to the Catholic sacramental and communal tradition. Arguing that the Catholic Church is at a critical juncture as it confronts the decline in the number of ordained priests, demographic change, and the need to restore credibility in the wake of the priest sex abuse scandals, Michele Dillon, professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, probes how Catholics envision institutional change and whether the increasing Hispanic presence in the Church is likely to alter the character of American Catholicism. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 23428]
Holy places create the potential for military, theological, or political clashes, as evidenced by the ongoing struggle over Jerusalem. Drawing on his recent book, War on Sacred Grounds, Ron Hassner argues that sacred sites are particularly prone to conflict because they cannot be divided. The management of conflicts over sacred sites requires cooperation religious leaders who can shape the meaning and value that sacred places hold for believers. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 23430]
Jennifer Butler and Wade Clark Roof discuss the current social, economic, health, immigration, and environmental issues that bring religious and non-religious groups together. Are these issues those of economic inequality? Health care? Immigration? The environment? Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 23897]
All the ancient philosophers, pagans and Christians alike, agreed that death is the separation of a soul and a body. While there was much disagreement on the precise relationship between a being and his soul, as well as what sort of thing they took a soul to be, it is the agreement among the philosophers rather than their differences that calls for critical attention. Jonathan Barnes examines why ancient philosophers believed that beings were composed of two parts, the divorce of which is death. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 23825]
His Holiness the Dalai Lama joins esteemed scientists Richard Somerville and Veerabhadran Ramanathan at UC San Diego to discuss the need for humanitarian values and universal responsibility in responding to the impacts of climate change on communities and ecosystems. This lecture is part of the Dalai Lama’s “Compassion without Borders” symposium in San Diego. Series: "Compassion Without Borders: Science, Peace, Ethics with the Dalai Lama" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 23963]
His Holiness the Dalai Lama continues his “Compassion without Borders” tour in San Diego with “Cultivating Peace and Justice,” a public lecture at the University of San Diego addressing escalating violence among nations and alternatives that emphasize shared human values across societies. Series: "Peace exChange -- Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 22480]
Mark Mann of Point Loma Nazarene University leads a panel of distinguished religious scholars in discussing how the various views of life, death, and the afterlife intersect with theological and ethical issues that lie at the heart of the Henrietta Lacks story. This lecture is part of the Henrietta Lacks series sponsored by the Center for Ethics in Science and Technology in San Diego. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 23214]
Matthew Herbst addresses what it means to be human from an ancient Christian perspective. This lecture is part of the “To Be Human” series presented by the Making of the Modern World program at Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego. Series: "To Be Human " [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 23244]
William H. C. Propp, a professor of History at UC San Diego, addresses what it means to be human with an exploration of man in Biblical times. This lecture is part of the “To Be Human” series presented by the Making of the Modern World program at Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego. Series: "To Be Human " [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 23236]
Author of the bestseller, “Jerusalem: The Biography,” Simon Sebag Montefiore speaks of the world's most contested place through the lives of those who created, destroyed, conquered, wrote about and believed in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 23503]
Since the 20th century there has been a massive shift of the Christian population from the Global North (Europe and North America) to the Global South (Africa, Asia and South America). Peter Phan, professor at Georgetown University, traces the development, major features and implications of this new face of Christianity. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 22878]
Menachem Mendel Schneerson built the Lubavitcher movement from a relatively small sect within Hasidic Judaism into the powerful force in Jewish life that it is today. Samuel Heilman, Professor of Sociology at CUNY, explores Schneerson’s beliefs and the rise of orthodox Judaism. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 22631]
Atlantic Editor James Bennet interviews Dr. Deepak Chopra and physicist Leonard Mlodinow on their upcoming book about spirituality and science as part of The Atlantic Meets The Pacific, hosted by The Atlantic and UC San Diego. Series: "The Atlantic Meets The Pacific" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 22484]
His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama returned to UC Irvine to engage students and the community about compassion and global leadership. Series: "Great Minds Gather Here" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 22640]
Created by UCSD Music faculty member Shlomo Dubnov, Kamza and Bar Kamza tells the Talmudic story of the fall of Jerusalem in a multimedia hyper-cinema experience that includes performance, video, online chatting, hypertext and live debate. [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 22436]
Host Harry Kreisler welcomes John Witte, Jr., Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. Witte explores the evolution of legal studies and the emergence of an interdisciplinary study of religion and law. He describes the nature of each realm and the dialectic that shapes their interaction. He traces religion's role in securing political and civil rights in the West exploring the implications of this for addressing the complexity of a multicultural world in which many religions seek a place in the global community including the questions raised by the introduction of Sharia law into Western courts. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 22442]
John Witte, Jr., Director, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University, explores a new issue of religious freedom and family law that is now confronting many Western democracies: to what extent may Islamic and other religious communities have the freedom to develop their own internal religious laws to govern the sex, marriage, and family lives of their voluntary faithful. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 21039]
Darwin is deservedly given credit for the theory of biological evolution. Most important, however, is that he discovered natural selection, the process that accounts for the adaptive organization of organisms and their features; that is, their "design.” UC Irvine professor Francisco J. Ayala, explains that the design of organisms is not intelligent, as would be expected from an engineer, but imperfect and worse. Natural selection is Darwin's gift to religion, because the dysfunctions and waste of the living world need not be attributed to the Creator, but explained as an outcome of a natural process. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 21385]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes author Gurcharan Das for a discussion of his new book, “The Difficulty of Being Good.” Reflecting on his intellectual odyssey, Gurcharan Das elucidates his purpose in writing an extended commentary on the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In the conversation, he also discusses the complex nature of the characters in the epic and the dilemmas posed by their failings and the constraints of the human condition. He concludes with a discussion of the lessons he learned for his own spiritual development and for understanding the moral dilemmas confronting modern societies. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 20512]
A conversation between Hans Küng, President, Foundation for a Global Ethic; Mark Juergensmeyer, Director, UCSB Ofalea Center; and Wade Clark Roof, Director, UCSB Walter H. Capps Center. Series: "Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20074]
John Polkinghorne, an Anglican priest who became famous as a young physicist for confirming the existence of quarks and gluons, joins journalist Dean Nelson for a discussion on science and religion in this event sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. [Humanities] [Show ID: 19861]
Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Oxford University Professor Tariq Ramadan for a discussion of his new book, "What I Believe." Reflecting on the formative experiences of his life, Professor Ramadan traces the influence of his family, his education in Western philosophy and Islamic studies, and the impact of his different careers including high school principal, philosopher, and Islamic scholar. Articulating his commitment to universal principles and resistance to inequality, He analyzes the tensions facing Muslims in an era of globalization as they strive to be fully engaged as citizens committed to Western values. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20378]
Is the danger posed by Muslim immigrants real? If it is exaggerated, why the general hysteria? Award-winning author and journalist Ian Buruma will addresses these questions and others raised in his new book “Taming the Gods,” a sharp-eyed look at the tensions between religion and politics on three continents: Europe, Asia and North America Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 19868]
One of the world’s leading commentators on religious affairs, Karen Armstrong discusses the intersection of religion and secularism in contemporary life. She explores the ideas that Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common and their effect on world events. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18580]
Michael Fishbane discusses the role of spiritual practices in Judaism, through ritual and meditation, which cultivate different types of consciousness and awareness. He considers diverse examples from the full range of Jewish religious history, including related topics from his recent book “Sacred Attunement: A Jewish Theology”. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 19392]
Elizabeth Johnson, a former president of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the ecumenical American Theological Society, argues that interfaith dialogue has made clear that each religious tradition has its own distinctive contribution to make. In this Burke lecture, she explores one line of thinking peculiar to the Christian tradition, namely, the meaning of Jesus Christ. Her question is whether the central, organizing figure in Christian faith also has anything intrinsic to do with the natural world. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18746]
Harry Kreisler welcomes Susumu Shimazono, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Tokyo to discuss popular religious movements in Japan. Shimazono discusses the origins of his interest in religious studies; the role of religion in modernization; and the emergence of new religions as a global phenomena in the 1970’s with special reference to Japanese examples. Shimazono distinguishes these spiritual movements from salvation religions by identifying their unique features and future evolution. He analyses the implications of new religions for politics and suggests their strengths and weaknesses as an enduring phenomena. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18709]
In recent decades people in the United States, Europe, and Japan have tended to talk about spirituality rather than religion. Is it just a kind of cultural fashion or does it indicate some fundamental transformation of human civilization? Susumo Shimazono, professor of Religious Studies and the University of Tokyo, proposes that the key to understanding contemporary religions will be found by inquiring into the role of the concept of salvation in the history of religions. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18720]
How can Jewish ideals of the prophetic tradition be applied through tikkun olam, “perfecting the world,” to the active pursuit of peace and justice? Rabbi David Saperstein discusses the origin of the prophetic tradition in Jewish thought and its role in Jewish history. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18190]
E.J. Dionne asserts that after three decades during which conflicts over religion played a tremendous role in American politics, the country seems to be approaching a truce and, perhaps, even something akin to peace. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 19866]
David Makovsky, Senior Fellow and Director of the Washington Institute’s Project on Middle East Peace and Ghaith al-Omari, previously Senior Advisor to former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and currently Advocacy Director for the American Task Force on Palestine discuss path to Middle East peace. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 17555]
In the period between 1150 and 1550 a number of Christians in western Europe made pilgrimage to places where material objects - among them paintings, statues, relics, pieces of wood, earth, stones, and Eucharistic wafers - allegedly erupted into life by such activities as bleeding, weeping, and walking about. Carole Walker Bynum, Professor of Western European Middle Ages at the Institute for Advanced Studies, describes the miracles themselves and probes the basic philosophical and scientific assumptions about nature and matter that lay behind them. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 17620]
Harry Kreisler welcomes Rich Cohen, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, to discuss his book “Israel is Real.” Cohen explores the changing conception of a homeland for Jews in the Diaspora, the theme of his new book, and explains how Jews turned the loss of the real Zion to a focus on an ideal Zion that would be realized in an unknown future. He traces the rise of the Zionist movement and the ways in which the establishment of the State of Israel created tension between Jews for whom Zion was a virtual vision and Jews in Israel for whom Zion had become a real state with concerns for security and land. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 17870]
San Diego Deputy District Attorney Jane Via returns to Osher UCSD to recount what has happened to her in the three years since she was ordained as a Roman Catholic woman priest. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 16595]
Who is most beloved by God? Monotheists have often advanced the idea that their relationship with God is unique and superior to all others. Rabbi Reuven Firestone explores the idea of "chosenness" as articulated through the scriptures of the three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 16030]
Conversations with History host Harry Kreisler welcomes the Carnegie Endowment's Karim Sadjadpour for a discussion of U.S.-Iran relations. Topics covered include: the recent Iranian elections, the divisions with the clerical power structure shaping the domestic political conflict, the Iranian nuclear program, the role of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's strategic goals, its aims in negotiations with the U.S., the implications of the new U.S. policy of engagement, the role of Israel in shaping U.S. Iranian relations, and the dilemmas the Obama administration faces as it shapes a new U.S. foreign policy. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 17429]
What are the most salient and significant features of the current offensive directed against the State of Israel and Jewish communities around the world? Robert Wistrich, Director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, examined key facets of the challenge and danger that emanates from the new anti-Semitism, including its connections with the global Jihad. He also explored some possible responses and strategies in dealing with this threat. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 16029]
Authors Robert Thurman and Pico Iyer reflect on the Dalai Lama's ideas and work as a religious leader, politician, scientist, and philosopher. Series: "Voices" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 16536]
Professor David Sloan Wilson looks at Darwin’s theory of evolution vs. theories of creationism and intelligent design. He considers the assault on Darwin’s theory by those who advance theories of creationism or intelligent design in this installment of the Darwin Evolving Series from UCLA. Series: "Darwin Evolving" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 16922]
In this presentation at UCSB, His Holiness the Dalai Lama turns to one of his favorite themes: the importance of compassion. Far from being a uniquely Buddhist concern, the Dalai Lama explains why caring for others can be the basis for a rich and rewarding life for all people. Series: "Voices" [Humanities] [Show ID: 17091]
The debate about the relationship of politics and religion in the United States is set on the wrong course, Ivan Strenski, distinguished professor of religious studies at UC Riverside, claims in this presentation. Professor Strenski follows the development of the theology of political leadership from Roman through Medieval to the present times to understand the sources of our dedication to republican constitutionalism. [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 16933]
Sister Joan D. Chittister, a Benedictine nun, discusses how culture changes and the implications those changes have for contemporary spirituality. She focuses on the stages of revitalization, global definitions of the seven capital sins, and American society as it moves into the 21st century. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 16612]
Author and nondenominational pastor Brian McLaren discusses what he considers to be the most imperative global crises, how Christians are equipped to grapple with them, and how Christians can join with people of other backgrounds as advocates for change. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 16611]
Paula Fredriksen, author and Aurelio Professor of Scripture, Boston University sheds new light on the origins of anti-Semitism and opens a path toward better understanding between two of the world’s great religions. She focuses in particular on the vast change from Paul to Augustine in the Christian message of Jewish redemption. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 16027]
Michael Shermer, the founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine, argues “Why Darwin Matters: Evolution, Intelligent Design and the Battle for Science and Religion” in this talk presented by the Division of Biological Sciences and the Helen Edison Lecture Series at the University of California, San Diego. Series: "Helen Edison Lecture Series" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 15584]
Gregory Schopen, chair of the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and an authority on ancient Indian Buddhism has been separating Buddhist fact from fiction for the past 30 years. In this UCLA Faculty Research Lecture, Schopen explores the Buddha as an astute businessman, economist and lawyer Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Humanities] [Business] [Show ID: 16444]
Brian McLaren, author of the groundbreaking “Everything Must Change,” again shows his penchant for challenging conventional thinking about faith and religion in this interview with host Dean Nelson as part of the 2009 Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 15700]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Harvard's Jocelyn Cesari for a discussion of the subtle and complex changes transforming Islam practice and thinking as Muslims live and work in the West. Topics covered include: Muslim women, the changes in religious practices, sharia and Western courts, the emergence of moderate voices, and political factors affecting Western perceptions of Islam. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 15783]
Talal Asad is a socio-cultural anthropologist, renowned for his contributions and research on the phenomenon of religion and secularism, and the religious revival in the Middle East. He discusses the attempts to define religion, the shifting place of "belief" in that endeavor, and some of its implications for politics. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 15122]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Talal Asad who reflects on his life and work as an anthropologist focusing on religion, modernity, and the complex relationships between Islam and the West. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 15444]
In partnership with several Italian scholars, UCSB’s department of religious studies gathered experts to discuss the way religious thought intersects with political legislation and action, particularly in the realm of sexuality. On this installment of “Church, Sex, and the Public Sphere: Italy and the United States,” Elizabeth Oldmixon, Assistant Professor of Political Science, North Texas University, explores the policy of sexual ethics. Series: "Voices" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 15376]
While religious conservatives sometimes claim the banner of faith-based politics for themselves, Congressman David Price (D-NC) explores the religious and moral roots of politics across the left-right spectrum. He focuses on the passion and conviction that faith brings to politics, the constraints on power (political and otherwise) it inspires, and the theologically-based humility that tempers our engagement. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 15131]
Bart Ehrman is renowned for his contributions to the field of religious studies, focusing on New Testament interpretation and the history of ancient Christianity in the first three centuries AD. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14693]
As a professor of religious studies at the UC Santa Barbara for more than three decades, Walter Capps influenced thousands of students. Many went on to careers in teaching and research and carried his legacy into their own work. Richard Hecht, Professor of Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, addresses the impact of the Vietnam War, and Edward Linenthal, Professor of History, Indiana University and editor of the Journal of American History, speaks about Capps and Congress. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14968]
As a professor of religious studies at the UC Santa Barbara for more than three decades, Walter Capps influenced thousands of students. Many went on to careers in teaching and research and carried his legacy into their own work. Robert Orsi, of Northwestern University, speaks on Capps’ contribution to the ethos and ethics of religious studies; and Giles Gunn, Professor of English and of Global and International Studies, UC Santa Barbara, looks at international politics. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14967]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes biblical scholar Bart Ehrman for a discussion of his intellectual odyssey with a focus on how the Bible explains the problem of human suffering. The conversation includes a discussion of the challenges of biblical interpretation when confronting this age old problem of the human condition. Included are topics such as the contribution of the prophets, a comparison of the old and new testaments, the book of Job, and the emergence of apocalyptic writers. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14669]
UCLA Professor Abou El Fadl is a major contemporary Islamic thinker, a strong supporter of human rights, and America’s leading authority on Islamic law, who works to bring about constructive transformations in Muslim political theology. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 14332]
A distinguished scholar of Buddhism, Lewis Lancaster founded the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative to use the latest computer technology to map the spread of various strands of Buddhism from the distant past to the present. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14331]
Acknowledged as the common patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Abraham links these three cultures throughout the Middle East. William Ury, co-founder and director of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, explores ways that programs like the Abraham Path Initiative, which he chairs, can serve as a bridge to a lasting peace in the Middle East and how the story of Abraham has the power to inspire cross-cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 14354]
Experiences in which the senses are intermingled in usual ways are a common motif in the descriptions that mystics provide of their unordinary sensory experiences. The panelists discuss the role that such experiences have played in the thought and practice of selected figures in the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian mystical traditions. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 13192]
Mario T. Garcia, author of several books on Mexican American leaders, is the editor of the recently released collection of César Chávez’s reflections on a variety of spiritual topics such as the power of faith, self-sacrifice, nonviolence, social justices, fasting, and pilgrimage. A panel discussion follows introductory remarks. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14358]
Author Philip Yancey explores the influence of faith and spirit on his writing in this interview with Dean Nelson of Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 13985]
Dr. Rosemary Reuther approaches religious and ethical questions as an historian of ideas in their social context, but also as a practitioner of what she calls “advocacy scholarship.” In this Burke Lecture, Dr. Reuther examines how the idea that the US is an elect and messianic nation has encouraged abuses against the rights of others, both foreign and domestic. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14225]
Experiences in which the senses are intermingled in usual ways are a common motif in the descriptions that mystics provide of their unordinary sensory experiences. This workshop examines the phenomenon of synaesthesia from a multi-disciplinary perspective in order to advance our understanding of the relationship between synaesthesia, metaphor, creativity, and religious and artistic practices. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 13191]
Professor James Young, Commissioner of Germany’s National Memorial to Europe’s Murdered Jews, and juror for the WTC Site Memorial Competition, discusses the history of memorial projects. [Humanities] [Show ID: 14091]
UCSD Professor of Modern Jewish Studies Deborah Hertz discusses her new book, which traces the social history of German Jewish families from 1645 through the 1930s. [Humanities] [Show ID: 13726]
The Temple Mount is the most sacred and contested real estate on earth. Yet it is also a physical place in the center of a city -- and the center of a century of conflict between Jews and Arabs. Gershom Gorenberg, an American-born journalist who has lived in Jerusalem since 1977, ponders if God's mountain can ever become a symbol of peace. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 13978]
Conversations with History host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Fawaz A. Gerges for a discussion on the origins, evolution and future direction of Islamic militancy. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 13466]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Berkeley Professor Yuri Slezkine for a discussion of the Jewish odyssey in the 20th century. His comparative analysis focuses on the similarity of the Jews to other "Mercurians" and provides new insight into understanding the paths the Jews took amidst the chaos of the last century. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 13297]
Join Tom Levy, UCSD Professor of Archaeology on a journey from the largest pre-biblical copper factory in the Middle East, to present-day India where the lost-wax process is still practiced by hereditary bronze casters. [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 13190]
Afif Safieh, scholar, diplomat and head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's mission to the United States, is joined by a panel consisting of Rabbi Arthur Gross-Schaefer, Hilal Elver and Stanley Roden for a discussion involving the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestine. Series: "Voices" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 13168]
Rabbi Michael Lerner, an outspoken advocate of religious pluralism, and Michael Novak, a Roman Catholic social theorist and director of Social and Political Studies at the American Enterprise Institute debate the place of religion in American politics. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 13170]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes writer/critic Mark Steyn, the 2007 Nimitz Lecturer at Berkeley. Focusing on his new book, "America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It," they discuss Europe and America's relations with the Islamic world. In the interview, their conversation also focuses on the craft of writing in a multi media globalized world. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 12599]
How did Christianity come to be popularly viewed as a "Western religion" as opposed to "Asian religions" such as Hinduism and Buddhism? Peter Phan of Georgetown University presents an alternative vision of Christianity as a global "catholic" religion and examines several historical movements in support of "World Christianity." Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 12482]
Jane Via, a deputy district attorney and former university professor, tells her remarkable story of how she became ordained as a Roman Catholic woman priest and her efforts to build a growing congregation in San Diego. Via was presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC San Diego. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 12244]
Author, poet, pastor and professor Eugene Peterson charms his audience as he recalls his effort to translate the Bible into The Message, an interpretation geared for modern readers. The book has such wide appeal that U2’s Bono began quoting from it at concerts. But when told of this, Peterson’s response was “Who is Bono?” Peterson is joined host Dean Nelson in Part 2 of the 2007 Writers Symposium by the Sea, sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 12227]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes distinguished French political scientist Olivier Roy for a discussion of globalization’s impact on religion and culture. The conversation focuses on changes within Islam. They explore the balance of power between Islamists and neo fundamentalists, the dynamic propelling terrorism, and the appropriate response of the West to the challenges posed by the interaction between globalization and Islam. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 12243]
Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza of the Harvard Divinity School has done pioneering work in biblical interpretation and feminist theology. She explores how the power of empire has historically shaped Christian Scriptures but also how it continues to shape our self-understanding and public discourse in the present. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 12211]
Biblical scholar Robert Alter argues that the distinctive organizing literary conventions and techniques of the Bible have been lost. He shows how a recovery of these conventions enables us to see more sharply what is going on in the Bible. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 12252]
Vali Nasr, author of "The Shia Revival," and UC San Diego sociologist Gershon Shafir explore the tensions between the Shiites and Sunnis and how the longstanding rivalries have affected the Middle East in this discussion led by historian Michael Bernstein, the dean of UCSD's Division of Arts and Humanities. Series: "Body Politic, The" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 12120]
University of Chicago Law Professor Martha Nussbaum traces the philosophical and historical origins of the American tradition of liberty of conscience by looking at the career and writings of Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island and author of important works about religious freedom. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11996]
On this edition of Frontiers, Madhavi Sunder and Keith Watenpaugh, discuss how Muslims are dealing with human rights and working to transform their societies from within. Then, Matthew Augustine from the UC Davis chemistry department discusses how his invention for scanning wine for spoilage could be used for airport security. Series: "UC Davis Frontiers" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 12122]
Michael Lerner, a rabbi in the Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal, has been an outspoken advocate for rejecting what he considers to be ethnocentric interpretations of the Torah. Lerner's publications promote religious pluralism and liberal approaches to political problems. He has worked to build bridges with Muslim leaders around such issues as attacks against immigrant communities in the U.S. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 12028]
In 2006 Israel went from being essentially at peace to being embroiled in a vicious war on two fronts. Was Israel weakened in the Hezbollah War? Can the Jewish State survive? How will Israel, and Israelis, have to change, if Israel is to reach the age of 100? Join author and vice-president of the Mandel Foundation Daniel Gordis. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 12108]
Robert T. Pennock, the scientist, philosopher and author of "Tower of Babel, The Evidence Against the New Creationism" speaks on the controversial movement to include intelligent design creationism in the curricula of public schools. Series: "Helen Edison Lecture Series" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 12066]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Iranian journalist and human rights activist Akbar Ganji for a discussion of the dynamics of change in Iran. Topics covered include the Iranian Revolution in comparative context, the problem of establishing democracy in Islamic societies, power in Iran, and U.S. Iranian Relations. Ganji also talks about his work as an investigative journalist in Iran and his political imprisonment. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 11934]
Nobel Peace Laureate and lawyer Shirin Ebadi of Iran describes how education can lead to peace in the Middle East and calls for an end to discrimination against women in this riveting address presented by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice and the School of Law at the University of San Diego. Series: "Peace exChange -- Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 11869]
Series of debates on extending marriage and adoption to same-sex couples co-sponsored by The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, Brigham Young University, and the UCLA Interdisciplinary Relationship Science Program. This installment of the series focuses on religion and education. Series: "Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 11913]
Best-selling author and political commentator Kevin Phillips discusses his book, "American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century " in this event sponsored by the Revelle Forum at UC San Diego. Series: "Revelle Forum" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 11663]
What is properly secular and what is legitimately religious in American politics? Americans are uncertain and divided about those questions. Join Peter Steinfels as he explores these questions and contemplates the new demands on being an active citizen in a pluralist America. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 11756]
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes political scientist Robert A. Pape for a discussion of how social science can help us understand suicide terrorism. Professor Pape also reflects on international relations theory and its implications for foreign policy. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 11599]
News program on religion and beliefs produced by students at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Series: "California News Service (CNS)" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 11649]
Jeffrey Schloss, Professor of Biology at Westmont College and Director of Biological Programs for the Christian Environmental Association; and Nancey Murphy, Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary reflect on current debates about intelligent design, emergent research on science and religion, the environment, and other issues of contemporary concern. Series: "New Visions" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11411]
Born between 1962-1982, Gen-Xers grew up with computers, video games, and MTV. Who are they and what are their values, beliefs, and world views? Wade Clark Roof, Director of the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life at UCSB explores how are they changing American religion and notions of spirituality. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11504]
Two acclaimed thinkers about religion—Reza Aslan and Jack Miles—conduct an enlightening on-stage conversation about the state of Islam. An author and scholar of comparative religions the Iran-born Aslan challenges the “clash of civilizations” mentality that he claims has distorted the West’s view of Islam and he examines this critical faith in all its complexity, beauty and compassion. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11461]
Can ecology and the newer cognitive sciences inform understandings of religion? Join Professor Robert Ulanowicz and Professor Antje Jackelen as they explore scientific and theological issues. Series: "New Visions" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11525]
Former Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart presents a critical analysis of the impact of religious fundamentalists taking over mainstream political parties in Part One of the 2006 Writer's Symposium by the Sea, sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 11449]
Abraham is often described as the common father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three traditions that venerate his memory. Noted Harvard Professor of Jewish Studies, Jon D. Levenson argues that Abraham both separates and links the surviving Abrahamic religious communities and does so in interesting ways. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11497]
Does evolution inform or frame human moral action? Jeffrey Schloss, Professor of Biology at Westmont College and Director of Biological Programs for the Christian Environmental Association; and Nancey Murphy, Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary, provide accessible and non-technical perspectives on biological and philosophical aspects of altruism. Series: "New Visions" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11410]
Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Historian Juan Cole for a discussion of U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East. He also explores the importance of religion in understanding events in Iran and Iraq and he addresses the impact of the communications revolution on his own work as a scholar involved in the policy debate. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 11296]
Yossi Klein Halevi, contributing editor and Israeli correspondent of the New Republic gives a talk on the dismantling of the Israeli settlements on the West Bank and the question of whether the Palestinian people and leadership are willing to accept a Jewish state at all in the Middle East. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 11387]
Mario Garcia talks about his new book called “Padre: The Spiritual Journey of Father Virgil Cordano” that deals with the story of a priest's tumultuous and challenging journey toward his place in the Catholic Church. An oral history life-story of Father Virgil Cordano, now the spiritual head of Santa Barbara's Old Mission, Garcia's book also discusses the emerging freedom of the Catholic lay community, the shifting winds of change within the Church and the agonizing effects of the sexual abuse crisis. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11280]
Jonathan D. Sarna, Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, discusses his new critically-acclaimed book, "American Judaism: A History." While American Jews have always worried about intermarriage, assimilation and continuity, Sarna argues that they have found answers in regeneration, revitalization and renewal. Sarna's talk entitled The Future of American Judaism was given as part of the 350th Commemoration of Jewish Life in America and was sponsored by the Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 11070]
This program evaluates the roles and themes of both government-inspired and populist antisemitism. Featuring Peter Kenez, Professor of History at UC Santa Cruz, and historian and Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer, Professor of Holocaust Studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This program is presented as part of the Santa Cruz Jewish Studies Lectures. [Humanities] [Show ID: 9422]
UC Berkeley hosts this four-part series examining the relationship between democracy and global Islam. In Part One, several noted academics look at the Muslims in Europe to explain how globalism has affected Islamic practices in democratic nations. [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 9867]
In this inaugural event in the Martin E. Marty Lectureship on Religion in American Life at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Professor Marty provides a map for those who wish to increase their understanding of the various spiritualities available in America today. He probes what people mean when they identify themselves as spiritual, and explores some of the wildly disparate options and competitive offerings on the 'spirituality' front. Martin E. Marty is widely regarded as the most prominent interpreter of American religion and culture today. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9528]
Professor Wendy Doniger has published over twenty books about Hindu and cross-cultural religion and mythology, particularly about issues of illusion, animals, gender, and sex. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9344]
Conversations Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Steve Coll, Pulitzer prize winning author of Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden for a discussion of how the superpower conflict in the last stages of the Cold War, U.S. foreign policy before and after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the political dynamics of South Asia created the setting in which Islamic terrorism took root and flourished. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 9513]
Wendy Doniger is a Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago and one of the most important interpreters of myth. In this Fourth Annual Ninian Smart Memorial Lecture at UC Santa Barbara she explores the narrative convention in myth. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9410]
Professor Eck is interviewed by Professor Wade Clark Roof, Director of the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion and Public Life at UC Santa Barbara. Their conversation centers on the growing diversity of religious thought in America and the impact that this is having on American culture and society. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9411]
Jim Wallis, author of the best-selling "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It.," and his wife Joy Carroll Wallis join Dean Nelson for a spirited talk on religion, writing and politics in this program from the 2005 Writer's Symposium by the Sea sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 9276]
Author and Harvard professor Diana Eck documents the growing presence of Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and other religious communities in the United States and offers insight into how people of all faiths should celebrate this rich diversity in this event sponsored by the Helen Edison Lecture Series and the San Diego Public Library. Series: "Helen Edison Lecture Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9339]
Political Scientist Vali Nasr joins host Harry Kreisler for a discussion of the role of Islam in politics. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 9171]
A pre-eminent voice for liberal Christianity, John Shelby Spong was the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2000. His admirers acclaim his making contemporary theology accessible to the ordinary lay person—he's considered a champion of an inclusive faith by many both inside and outside the Christian church. His challenges to the church have also made him a target of hostility, fear, and death threats. Calling himself "a joyful, passionate, convinced believer in the reality of God," he seeks not to create a new religion, but to reform the church he loves. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9117]
Rabbi James Rudin, senior inter-religious adviser at the American Jewish Committee, and Professor Akbar S. Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies and professor of International Relations at American University in Washington, D.C. discuss Judaism and Islam. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9088]
Noted Holocaust scholar, author and lecturer, Alvin H. Rosenfeld, Director of the Institute of Jewish Culture and the Arts, and Professor of English at Indiana University, explores the changing images of the Holocaust's most famous victim over time, and attempts to explain why one particular version of Anne Frank has been favored over others. Sponsored by the Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 8872]
Victor Davis Hanson, Professor of Classics at California State University at Fresno, leads a discussion on the nature of war throughout civilization and how it might enlighten us about the contemporary troubles in the Middle East. Presented as part of UC Santa Cruz's Jewish Studies Lectures. [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 8856]
Craig Blomberg, a specialist in the parables and the writings of Luke and Acts, discusses the historical Jesus. Series: "Let There Be Light" [Humanities] [Show ID: 8894]
Geoffrey Hartman, Sterling Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at Yale University, discusses the multi-voiced archives which have been gathered to document the destruction of European Jewry. As faculty advisor and project director to the Fortunoff Video Archives of Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University, Professor Hartman has been actively involved in its growth and has written extensively about the Archive and its work. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 8829]
Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Israeli journalist Amira Hass for a discussion of the Israel occupation, Palestinian terrorism, and the consequences of the conflict for the daily lives of both Israelis and Palestinians. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 8634]
Bruce Feiler, best-selling author of six books including Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses, delivers a lecture based on his latest book, Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths. Feiler talks about the meaning of Abraham in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths and his personal quest to better understand this historical figure. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 8727]
The Dalai Lama of Tibet dicusses ethical leadership for a new millennium to promote dialogue and cross-cultural understanding around the world. Series: "Dalai Lama" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 8659]
God is not dead in America, but the old-time religion has virtually disappeared. Leading American social critic, Alan Wolfe, discusses the transformation in American religion over the last five decades. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 8577]
This session in the Religious Pluralism in Southern California conference held at UC Santa Barbara deals with the topic of The New Religious Landscape of Southern California. Professor Richard Hecht of the Religious Studies Department at UC Santa Barbara gives a "photo" tour of "One-Way LA: The City Where Religion Comes Together." Series: "Let There Be Light" [Humanities] [Show ID: 8022]
In a fascinating multimedia presentation, Jeremy Begbie, Professor of Music, Cambridge University, expounds upon the relationship between music and theology. Series: "Let There Be Light" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 7906]
Jonathan Z. Smith explores aspects of religion in civic discourse in terms of the constitution and the court, through representation and interpretation of religion in public speech. Series: "Humanitas" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7910]
Host Harry Kreisler speaks with Tariq Ali, a British-Pakistani journalist, novelist, playwright, publisher, filmmaker, and renowned social critic about Islam, empire, and the left. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7894]
How may we understand science and religion as arising from, yet somehow transcending, the human experience? Professor Jim Proctor discusses the ways in which we trust science, religion, and other authorities to provide guidance in our lives. Series: "Science, Religion and the Human Experience" [Humanities] [Show ID: 7858]
Georgetown University Professor John L. Esposito talks with UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler about the complex forces shaping Islam and its relationship with the West. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7682]
What is experience? Tune in for this exploration of the human experience both in life and in philosophical reflection with Harvard Professor Emeritus, Hilary Putman. Series: "Science, Religion and the Human Experience" [Humanities] [Show ID: 6840]
We live in a world in which medical researchers design double-blind trials of prayer, ministers talk about the brain and the immune system from the pulpit, monks meditate inside brain imaging machines, and studies of "the placebo effect" and "positive attitude" frame discussions about the "science" of "miracle" healings. Explore how this strange world came to be and what might develop when science and religion form constructive alliances in the service of human experience. Series: "Science, Religion and the Human Experience" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7658]
In this Foerster Lecture presented by UC Berkeley, distinguished anthropologist Gananath Obeyesekere investigates and compares rebirth beliefs in an array of cultures and religions, including North American Indian, Ancient Greek and Buddhism. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 7420]
Host Richard Madsen talks with anthropologist Suzanne Brenner and communication professor Vicente Rafael about how Islam is observed in Philippines and Indonesia, and how these countries view the U.S. War on Terrorism. Series: "Viewpoint Asia" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7540]
Conversations with History and Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Russian scholar and policy analyst, Vitaly Naumkin, who reflects on Islam, Russian perspectives on the Middle East and Central Asia, and the implications of U.S. policy. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7388]