March 2019 Upcoming Events
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March 7: America’s First Freedom Conflicts Then and Now
March 12: Life Matters: Dave Garraty
March 14: Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Battle On Behalf of Slaves and Women
March 14: Religious Ways to Justify Genocide
March 26: Conflict and Peace in Jordan
April 4: Life Matters: Brandon Elliott ‘03
April 4: Two Stories of Immigration
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All events are held on the VWU campus and are free and open to the public.
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America’s First Freedom Conflicts Then and Now: Musical Theatre and the Founding Fathers
COOKSON LECTURE
Thursday, March 7
7:00 – 8:15 PM
Blocker Hall Auditorium
“Never discuss religion or politics.” Given our current political divisiveness, this time-honored adage seems truer than ever. Or is it? Could such discussions actually make for fun-filled, thought-provoking musical entertainment? In 2003, award-winning playwright
Rob Lauer
was commissioned to write “First Freedom”—a musical play depicting the events leading up to the passage of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. In the process, Lauer became convinced that musical theatre—a highly-stylized, American-born art form—was the perfect vehicle for not only presenting more nuanced depictions of our nation’s founders, but also for entertainingly exploring the philosophical concepts that animated them and for showing how those concepts are at the heart of our current political and social divide. Music videos and a reader’s theatre presentation from “First Freedom” are incorporated into this year’s Cookson lecture.
Rob Lauer is an award-winning playwright, theatrical and television director, and the host of two TV shows in Coastal Virginia. He is known for having authored the comedy "Geeks & Gangsters," the musical "My Jo" (based on the works of Louisa May Alcott), the musical "A Southern Christmas Carol," and the musical "First Freedom." He currently edits "The Shopper" in Chesapeake and hosts and produces "Portsmouth Insites," "Portsmouth Now," and "Museum Moments."
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Life Matters: Dave Garraty
Professor of Management/Business/Economics
Tuesday, March 12
12:00 – 12:50 PM
Pearce Hospitality Suite, Jane P. Batten Student Center
In “Life Matters,” members of the Wesleyan community offer autobiographical reflections on their emotional, intellectual, and spiritual experiences. These deeply personal talks create meaningful opportunities for greater understanding and connection, encouraging each of us to think about what has shaped us and given our own life meaning. The series is sponsored in partnership with the Chaplain’s Office and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Engaged Learning (INTEL) at Virginia Wesleyan University.
Please feel free to bring a bag lunch or purchase lunch in the Boyd Dining Center.
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Taking Back the Bible: Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Scriptural Battle On Behalf of Slaves and Women
Thursday, March 14
11:00 – 11:50 AM
Blocker Hall Auditorium
The 19
th
-century abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton was not a religious person, but she recognized how people in her day frequently used the Bible to justify slave hunting and the suppression of women’s rights. Using scripture then as a leverage point, she wrote two visceral and provocative works:
The Slave’s Appeal
(1860) and
The Woman’s Bible
(1895, 1898). Join
Dr. Craig Wansink
and
Jake Stokke ’19
as they examine how Stanton controversially used scripture, in ways that both led to a permanent schism with Susan B. Anthony, yet also fought both slavery and the suppression of women’s rights.
Dr. Craig Wansink is Professor of Religious Studies and the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University. VWU senior Jake Stokke is majoring in psychology and religious studies.
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Religious Ways to Justify Genocide
Thursday, March 14
7:00 – 8:00 PM
Blocker Hall Auditorium
If religious ideals represent appeals to people’s best instincts, how and why do religious instincts sometimes become distorted in ways that lead not only to hatred and murder of others, but even to systemic genocide? In the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries, examples of such genocide are not limited to places like Nazi Germany and Myanmar. Join us as
Dr. Sara Sewell
highlights the complicated relationship between religion and genocide, and points us to concerning trends and the need for crucial conversations.
Dr. Sara Sewell is Professor of History and Executive Director of The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration and Discovery at Virginia Wesleyan University.
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Conflict and Peace in Jordan: From International Geopolitics to Individual Identity
VWU STUDY-AWAY PRESENTATION
Tuesday, March 26
11:00 – 11:50 AM
Pearce Hospitality Suite, Jane P. Batten Student Center
Studying away in Jordan creates many opportunities for reflection and examination on peace as it relates to national identity and alliances within the international community.
Selena Chambers ’19
offers personal perspectives on identity, peace, and geopolitics.
VWU Senior Selena Chambers ’19 is majoring in International Relations, with minors in Business, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. During fall 2019 she studied international politics at the School for International Training in Amman, Jordan.
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Life Matters: Brandon Elliott ‘03
Head Softball Coach
Thursday, April 4
12:00 – 12:50 PM
Pearce Hospitality Suite, Jane P. Batten Student Center
In “Life Matters,” members of the Wesleyan community offer autobiographical reflections on their emotional, intellectual, and spiritual experiences. These deeply personal talks create meaningful opportunities for greater understanding and connection, encouraging each of us to think about what has shaped us and given our own life meaning. The series is sponsored in partnership with the Chaplain’s Office and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Engaged Learning (INTEL) at Virginia Wesleyan University.
Please feel free to bring a bag lunch or purchase lunch in the Boyd Dining Center.
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Two Stories of Immigration: Challenges Past and Present
Thursday, April 4
7:00 – 8:00 PM
Blocker Hall Auditorium
'Whosoever saves one life...': The SS Quanza and the Battle Over Jewish Refugees, 1940
One man—who lost a “turf war” against fellow government officials—is all that stood between millions of people facing internment or death and the United States of America, where they could be free of persecution and danger. The man was Breckinridge Long; the “turf war” was the Portuguese ship SS Quanza; and the year was 1940.
Dr. Eric Mazur
is the Virginia Wesleyan University Gloria and David Furman Professor of Judaic Studies, and the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom Fellow for Religion, Law, and Politics.
A Look into the Lives of Resettled Refugees in Coastal Virginia
Since 1932, Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia has resettled thousands of refugees, from many different countries. They often arrive with very few possessions, having fled their home countries in fear of persecution and death. Currently, many refugees
are coming from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
The arduous, often years-long, journey from refugee camps to the Virginia Peninsula is daunting, but their challenges don’t stop when they arrive in the U.S.
Join
Rabia Jafri
and
Saher Mirza
as they offer
insights and firsthand stories into the challenges faced by resettled refugees.
Dr. Rabia Jafri works as a psychiatrist in Newport News, VA and is founder of the Hampton Roads Refugee Relief organization. Saher Mirza is a community volunteer and founder of the “Coffee with a Refugee” program.
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CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Dr. Craig Wansink
, Professor of Religious Studies and the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr.
Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom
Kelly Jackson
, Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom
Dr. Eric Mazur
, Gloria and David Furman Professor of Judaic Studies and Center for the Study of Religious Freedom Fellow for Religion, Law, and Politics
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