College of Arts and Sciences

What if it’s too late to avoid some kind of ecological catastrophe? Maybe it’s not, and we should be doing everything we can so that it isn’t. Still, what if it is? Shouldn’t we also be talking about that? What kind of a future do we want to create for ourselves on such a horizon? What might it mean to collapse well?

Bayo Akomolafe, the 2025 Hildegarde and Elbert Baker Visiting Scholar in the Humanities, presents “Death is a Distraction: Responsibility at Posthuman Precipices,” the first lecture in a series of free public lectures by internationally renowned scholars and public intellectuals made possible by the Henry Luce Foundation

Wednesday, September 25th at 6pm

Thwing Center, Excelsior Ballroom

11111 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44106

Free to the Public, no registration required

For more on Bayo Akomolafe visit: www.bayoakomolafe.net and www.emergencenetwork.org

For more on Finite Futures visit: Finite Futures | h.lab | Case Western Reserve University

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Professor Deepak Sarma has written an article for Canopy Forum: On the Interactions of Law & Religion, diving into the cross-racial surrogacy and surrogacy in India from a Hindu perspective, a perspective not yet studied significantly. The article raises critical questions about surrogacy between Hindu surrogates and non-Hindu parents, highlighting concerns over bodily exchanges and their effects on purity and karma. While the Brahminical perspective stresses maintaining caste boundaries, it notes that most Hindus don’t follow these strict beliefs. Dr. Sarma also addresses the 2018 ban on commercial surrogacy in India and the lingering bioethical concerns surrounding earlier surrogacy cases.

Click here to read the full article

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Dr. Timothy Beal recently traveled to Aarhus University in Denmark to deliver the Keynote Lecture at the 21st biennial conference of the International Society for Religion, Literature and Culture.

The purpose of the ISRLC Conference 2024 is for scholars working specifically or broadly in religion, literature, and culture to reflect on and exemplify what scholarship within the Humanities, including Theology, has to offer in contributing to a renewed mission for the Humanities, and in concretising its value for our rapidly changing world.

Dr. Beal’s keynote, “What’s So Generative about Generative AI? Talking with Machines about Creativity, Process, and Attention,” thoroughly embodied this mission.

Read more about the conference and his lecture here

In this vein, Dr. Beal, with a generous grant from Henry Luce Foundation, will be hosting a 5 part lecture series, “Finite Futures” this Fall, beginning September, 25th with renowned speaker, Bayo Akomolafe

Read more about the lecture series and Finite Futures here

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On September 3rd, Pope Francis embarked on an 11-day tour of Southeast Asia, including stops in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. This has kept Professor Jonathan Tan, the Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies, busy with interviews and sitting on a panel of experts to discuss this momentous tour. You can listen now to Professor Tan talking about Pope Francis and China with host, Noel King on Vox’s “Today, Explained” Podcast, “The Popes Big Bet on China”— which is also available on selected NPR stations.

As Pope Francis returns to Rome from his 11 day tour of the Asia-Pacific, Dr. Tan writes his own op-ed for UCA News, “The Holy See, Beijing, and the future of Sino-Vatican relations,” on the current negotiations between the Holy See and Beijing on renewing the 2018 joint accord on the appointment of bishops (due for renewal in October 2024) and on the politics of Sino-Vatican and church-state relations generally.

Read More to explore the many articles and interviews from various media outlets on Pope Francis’s tour, briefly described and linked here

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Recently, Dr. Sarma wrote an article for The Blog of the American Philosophical Association (APA), “Epistemic Doubt: A dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago”, reflecting on their long-standing passion for teaching Introduction to Indian Philosophy, which they have taught every year since 2004. Within the article, Dr. Sarma relays the personal journey and philosophical skepticism that led to their particular style in teaching the course which blends traditional methods with immersive experiences at the Cleveland Museum of Art, challenges epistemic foundations, and encourages students to question their deepest assumptions.

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From Sept. 2nd to 13th, 2024, Pope Francis will travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Singapore. The longest apostolic journey since the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis will engage with not only some of the richest and poorest countries of today’s world, but also with the most religiously diverse society (Singapore) and the most Catholic nation of the 21th century (Timor Leste) as well as with the country with the world’s largest Muslim population (Indonesia). In this online roundtable, panelists will analyze most important aspects of this papal visit and their relevance for local governments, ecclesial communities, national development, and cross-regional connections.

Dr. Jonathan Tan will provide his expertise on Singapore as a panelist on the Online Roundtable discussion.

Online Roundtable
Tuesday, 3 September 2024
8:00 AM Eastern Time
8:00 PM Singapore Time

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In an unusual custody case in Steubenville, Ohio, two priests seek custody of a 2-year-old child, having helped a young couple with his care since they moved to town in June 2022. Dr. Clites offers his expertise in Roman Catholic tradition to shed some light on the situation.

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Art / Sci Magazine has published their lasted issue, highlighting Religious Studies faculty members in the feature “A Thriving Culture.”

Dr. Michele Berger, director of the Baker-Nord Center for the humanities, is leading efforts to expand the reach of the annual Cleveland Humanities Festival. This year’s festival centered on the multifaceted concept of awe across cultures and time. Read more about “Awe” here.

This spring, Dr. Timothy Beal and Dr. Michael Hemenway, a research fellow, created and co-taught a new course tackling the current AI phenomenon titled, “Responsible AI: Cultivating a Just and Sustainable Socio-technical Future through Data Citizenship”.

The Cleveland Humanities Collaborative (CHC), co-directed by Dr. Brian Clites and Dr. Kurt Koenigsberger, associate professor of English, provides local community college students who are seeking a degree in the humanities with opportunities to join the CWRU community. Read more about CHC here.

And

Dr. Jue Liang, Religious Studies newest faculty member, was recently awarded a “flash grant” to create a course for the Fall 2024 semester, “Ghosts, Zombies, and Monsters: What We Fear and Loathe in Religions.”

(Featured Photo by Matt Shiffler)

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Following her keynote lecture at Oxford University, “It Feels So Good to Be Alive”, Dr. Joy Bostic spoke with Beshara Magazine about the importance of Africana spirituality and its expression in popular music and dance, not just for the black community, but for all of us in the contemporary world.

Read the full interview here

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