Encountering Religion in the University
Channel: HCSpiritualLife
Date: 23/02/2013

A panel about how we conceptualize religion from a number of academic positions (philosophy, anthropology, and history).

Christoph Cox teaches and writes on 19th and 20th century European philosophy and cultural theory. He is the author of 'Nietzsche: Naturalism and Interpretation' (University of California Press, 1999) and co-editor of 'Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music' (Continuum, 2004).

Sue Darlington's research, based on extensive fieldwork in Thailand, examines the work of Buddhist monks engaged in rural development, environmental conservation and other forms of social activism. The broader questions she addresses in her research and teaching include understanding the changing social, political, and historical contexts of religion, environmentalism and human rights, and the creative use of ritual for social change.

Jim Wald's teaching and research interests include modern European history with an emphasis on cultural history from the 18th through the 20th centuries; the French Revolution; Central Europe; fascism and Nazism; and early modern Europe.

00:00:05 Christoph Cox
00:10:35 Sue Darlington
00:22:03 Jim Wald

00:37:26 Question and Answer:
00:37:42 Why do Chinese students convert in US colleges?
00:44:07 Do many of Sue's students identify as Buddhist?
00:49:40 Is there really a place for religious studies at Hampshire?
01:01:38 Hermeneutics well-taught in the Valley, and it's important.
01:04:46 Religious education and complex metaphysics.
01:06:27 Why is Buddhism romanticized in the Pioneer Valley?