From June 6-8, the 33rd annual Christian Scholars’ Conference will be held at various locations around Campus including Ward Lecture Hall, Collins Alumni Auditorium and Shamblin Theatre. More than 500 theologians hailing from almost 100 different universities will be participating in a total of 92 sessions.
In 1981, Dr. Thomas H. Olbricht, professor at Pepperdine University, created the conference. Their mission is “to create and nurture an intellectual and Christian community that joins individuals and institutions to stimulate networks of scholarly dialogue and collaboration.”
This years theme is “Crisis in Ethics: theology, business, law and the liberal and fine arts.” Featured guests include John Dean, former White House counsel to President Richard Nixon (and a major player Watergate scandal), Charles Mathewes, author of Theology of Public Life and Understanding Religious Ethics and David Miller, founding director of Princeton’s Faith and Work Initiative and former director of the Ethics and Spirituality in the Workplace Program of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture.
The following Plenary addresses are free and open to the general public:
- June 8 from 10:45 – 12:00 PM in Collins Alumni Auditorium, John Dean’s “The Ethical Legacy of Watergate.”
- 6 from 10:45 – 12:00 PM in Collins Alumni Auditorium, Charles Mathewes’ “The Future of Political Theology.”
- June 7 from 4:15 – 5:15 PM in Acuff Theatre, David Miller’s “God at Work.”
Another ticketed event, Blackbird Theater’s production of David Mamet’s Oleanna is open to the public as well. For more information on how to attend these and other panels, please visit the event’s main page. A full schedule is posted as well as registration prices.
There is a pre-conference event, free to the public. On Wednesday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m. In Ward Hall Auditorium, there will be a screening of As Goes Janesville, part of the HumanDocs series. It’s a film centered on the human cost of economic change in Janesville, Wis., after the town’s century-old General Motors plant was shut down. There will be a discussion panel afterwards with special guests director Brad Lichtenstein, Michael Herron (chairman, United Auto Workers) and David McCullough (mayor, Cheatham County, Tenn.).
The CSC is also calling for papers to be submitted for review & discussion, and if you’d like to participate, please visit the submission page. Current topics include “Best Practices for the Care of Vulnerable Children,” “Appropriation, Referencing, the Pastiche and Ethics in the Creative Arts,” “Lessons from the US Civil Rights Movement,” and more.
Photo courtesy of lipscomb.edu