Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Interview With James A. "Jim" Aull, Jeremiah Morales

Chicago 1968

Length: 120 minutes

Interview with James A. "Jim" Aull by Jeremiah Morales

Mr. Aull begins by describing his childhood in a rural community outside of Philadelphia, living with his parents, sister, and paternal grandmother. He describes his experiences in school, including the required church attendance and his first social service activities through the boarding school programs serving poor communities. While at Princeton, he says he became involved with the YCMA and Christian student organizations, leading to his involvement in civil rights. He recalls his travels through the Soviet Union and Turkey. He recalls his time at the Chicago Theological Seminary …

Interview With Father Dominic Grassi, Paul Brennan

Chicago 1968

Length: 105 minutes

Interview with Father Dominic Grassi by Paul Brennan

Fr. Dominic Grassi begins his interview by detailing his childhood, growing up the youngest of five to Italian immigrant parents on the North side of Chicago, He credits his high school work with the children at Cabrini Greens for introducing him to the community service aspect of religious life and recalls the significant role the priests played in his early years. He describes daily life at the college seminary and the formation of his religious vocation amidst “almost a tsunami” of worlds events: the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights …

Interview With Reverend Dr. B. Herbert Martin Sr., Matthew Kevin Robinson

Chicago 1968

Length: 84 minutes

Interview with Reverend B. Herbert Martin, Sr. by Matthew Kevin Robinson

Rev. Martin begins by describing his childhood in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, the oldest all-Black community in America, with his parents, grandparents, and nine siblings. He describes his strong religious upbringing and how he was called to ministry at the age of nine. He recounts being attacked and severely beaten by a group of “vigilante” white men for trying to register Black people to vote. He talks of his time at Philander Smith College, working for a wealthy retired counsel general, and the first churches he pastored …

Jewish Games For Learning: Renewing Heritage Traditions In The Digital Age, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

Rather than a discontinuity from traditional modes of learning, new explorations of digital and strategic games in Jewish learning are markedly continuous with ancient practices. An explication of the close connections between traditional modes of Jewish learning, interpretive practice, and gaming culture can help to explain how Jews of the Digital Age can adopt and are adapting modern Games for Learning practices for contemporary purposes. The chapter opens by contextualizing a notion of Jewish Games and the field of Games for Learning. Next, the chapter explains the connections between game systems and Jewish traditions. It closes with a case study …

The Binding Of Abraham: Inverting The Akedah In Fail-Safe And Wargames, Hunter B. Dukes

Journal of Religion & Film

This article draws upon Søren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling and Jacques Derrida's The Gift of Death to trace how two exemplars of atomic bomb cinema reinterpret the Binding of Isaac (Akedah). Released during the twin peaks of Cold War tension, Fail-Safe (1964) and WarGames (1983) invert the Akedah of Genesis 22. In both films, an act of sacrificial patricide accompanies or replaces the sacrifice of an Isaac-like son. When viewed in the context of Cold War cultural politics—events such as Norman Morrison’s Abrahamic self-immolation and Kent State’s rejection of George Segal’s sacrificial memorial— the inverted Akedah emerges as …

Tunisia’S Young Islamists: Religious Or Revolutionary Zealots?, Sawyer French

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ennahda’s many compromises during Tunisia’s transition have prompted assessments that the party has alienated its base, especially by not taking more traditionally Islamist stances on issues like sharī‘a. This paper draws on interviews with young Tunisian Islamists and assesses how they have responded to Ennahda’s compromises. Although some young Islamists are disappointed that Ennahda did not pursue more hard-line Islamist stances, many actually share the leadership’s progressive position on certain religious issues. Interestingly, young Islamists were far more angered by Ennahda’s compromises on ‘revolutionary’ issues than they were by its compromises on ‘religious’ ones. This paper ultimately argues that …

Interview With William "Bill" Southwick, Nancy Salto

Chicago 1968

Length: 50 minutes

Interview with William Southwick by Nancy Salto

Rev. Southwick begins by recalling the start of his activism work, running Northside Cooperative Ministry coffeehouse while serving as a minister. He explains how he first became involved in the anti-war protests through acquaintances in the Japanese-American community. He recalls the impact that both the DNC and Dr. King’s assassination had on Chicago and the effect it had on the more militant elements in the movement, like the Weather Underground. He compares the student protests in Chicago to other demonstrations and anti-war movements around the country. He describes the kind …

Interview With Reverend Dr. Michael Pfleger, Jesse Betend

Chicago 1968

Length: 76 minutes

Interview with Reverend Michael Pfleger by Jesse Betend.

In his interview with Jesse Betend, Reverend Michael Pfleger discusses his life leading up to his involvement with the Civil Rights Movement in 1968. He recalls how his childhood and early experiences affected his later work, his religious yet very progressively outspoken family and attending a highly diverse high school (Quigley Preparatory Seminary South). He recalls his first exposures to racism and segregation through family friends, classmates, and work with Native American and Black communities. He describes the violence perpetrated by his own community during a speech by Dr. …

Youth Narratives Of The Conflict In Northern Uganda, Ellen Eichelberger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Narratives are an essential method of communication that create windows into human experiences. Narratives are also responsible for generating the societies in which they are told, or are shaped indelibly by the societies generated by more powerful narratives. In a post-conflict environment where society has been destroyed by decades of violence, the power of narratives to influence society is heightened. Such a postconflict environment is that of northern Uganda, as it emerges from the violence of the war between the LRA and the UPDF. Due to the heightened powers of narratives, it is necessary to give attention to what those …

Menorah Review (No. 82, Winter/Spring, 2015)

Menorah Review

Books in Brief -- Conservative Judaism at a Crossroads? -- Franz and Edith Rosenzweig: Hero and Heroine -- Have You Heard This One? -- Judaism in Israel -- Moreshet: Guide for the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides -- My Friend and I -- They Will Revere His Glory in the East (Isaiah 59:19) -- Zachor

Study Guide For Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Life Together", Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

"The study begins with a short essay on Bonhoeffer’s life that explains the context of his work, especially Life Together. The study guide is organized in five parts, easily read in weekly installments. There is also a short conclusion."

Menorah Review (No. 83, Summer/Fall, 2015)

Menorah Review

L’hitraot... -- A Model of Courage -- Books in Brief -- Compassion and Truth Meet (Psalm 85.11) -- Four Poems -- From the Classics -- Judaism and a Heliocentric Universe -- Two Essays by Peter Haas -- Zachor

The Creation Of Daoism, Paul Fischer

Philosophy & Religion Faculty Publications

This paper examines the creation of Daoism in its earliest, pre-Eastern Han period. After an examination of the critical terms "scholar/master" and "author/ school", I argue that, given the paucity of evidence, Sima Tan and Liu Xin should be credited with creating this tradition. The body of this article considers the definitions of Daoism given by these two scholars and all of the extant texts that Liu Xin classified as "Daoist." Based on these texts, I then suggest an amended definition of Daoism. In the conclusion, I address the recent claim that the daojia /daijiao dichotomy is false, speculating that …

Peter Abelard’S Theology Of Atonement: A Multifaceted Approach And Reevaluation, Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

As a person trained primarily in philosophy, Peter Abelard employed an intense questioning mentality in fleshing out his theological ideas.  His extreme debating style of totally deconstructing theological positions and then afterward including some of those same aspects into his own views made it easy for his religio-political enemies to take apparently heterodox statements and declare these as representative of Abelard’s entire atonement theology.  However, many of his theological beliefs are supported in the New Testament and were already held by the church fathers.  He frequently affirmed Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice as the ransom to redeem man.  He rejected various contemporary …

[Book Review Of] American Protestant Theology: A Historical Sketch, By Luigi Giussani, Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

Many scholars in the field of American religious and theological history may never have heard the name of Luigi Giussani (1922-2005) because he spent most of his life in his home country Italy, his proficiency in English was limited to reading literacy, and the majority of his writings were not concerned with American religious history anyway. Giussani was a Catholic priest, theologian, high school teacher, professor, and founder of the international movement Comunione e Liberazione. He was closely acquainted with Pope John Paul II and the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. His influence on Italian and European religious life and culture …

Leo The Great On The Supremacy Of The Bishop Of Rome, Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

Pope Leo the Great built his rationale for the supreme authority of the bishop of Rome on an existing tradition, yet with his additions he developed a theoretical rationale for later papal claims to absolute and supreme power in the ecclesiastical and secular realms. Previous bishops and church leaders had laid increasing stress on the unique role of the Apostle Peter as the founder of the Roman churches and episcopacy, the significance of the Roman bishop as Peter’s successor, and the apostolic significance of the city and episcopacy of Rome. Yet Leo’s rationale for the absolute control and power of …

Inspiring Piety: The Influence Of Caravaggio’S Paintings In Santa Maria Del Popolo, Cara Coleman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This article looks at the way Italian Baroque painter, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio broke from the artistic conventions of the Renaissance and Mannerist styles in his religious paintings to create an entirely new style that reflected the needs of the post-Tridentine Catholic Church. Caravaggio pushed painting throughout Europe in a new direction, away from the idealization of the Renaissance and the artistic extremes of Mannerism, by popularizing realism in art. Caravaggio’s unique style is examined through comparisons of his paintings, The Conversion of Paul, c.1601 and The Martyrdom of Saint Peter, c.1601 in the Roman basilica, Santa Maria del Popolo …

"And They Shall Be Two In One Flesh": The Battle Over The Virgin's Body In The Life Of Christina Of Markyate, Alexandra Locking

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Defining Student Success And Identifying The Rhetorical Appeals That Colleges And Universities Use To Engage Students In The Pursuit Of Higher Education Degrees, Michael J. Baker

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of the study included examining how four-year institutions of higher education define student success, measuring student success, and examining how words associated with student success were used to appeal to people interested in college degree attainment. Information from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education was used to obtain a sample of 30 academic institutions with similar attributes to Indiana State University. Websites from Academic Affairs, Office of the President, and Student Affairs were examined for mentions of student success. Burke’s work with rhetorical appeals and the dramatistic pentad was used to analyze and interpret the mentions …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Technology Effectiveness In High School, Heather L. Gianfagna

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine high school teachers’ perceptions of technology in the classroom, including technology access, usage, and effectiveness. This study was conducted by administering a survey to high school teachers, Grades 9 through 12, in Indiana. The survey, entitled Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology Effectiveness in High Schools was used with high school teachers’ to determine their perceptions of technology access, usage, and effectiveness in classrooms. A total of 343 teachers submitted complete responses to the Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology Effectiveness in High Schools. I developed a survey to quantitatively measure the perceptions of teachers on …

The Sacrality Of The Mountain, Manuel Rivera Espinoza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I explore the conception of the mountain as a "sacred space" based on the definition provided by Mircea Eliade in The Sacred and The Profane and other works. I recognize three major elements in Eliadean sacral spatiality: a) order and orientation b) liminality and c) reality. Using various sources but mainly the oracle bones inscriptions, the Yugong ("Tributes of Yu") of the Shujing ("Book of Documents") and the Shanjing ("Classic of Mountains") of the Shanhaijing ("Classic of Mountains and Seas"), I demonstrate how the three basic components of sacrality are to be found in each of the …

From Topos To Utopia: Critical Buddhism, Globalization, And Ideology Criticism, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

“The Moment I Came In It Got Much Easier . . . I Should Come Here More”: Student Experiences At Three Midwestern Lgbt Resource Centers, Burr Dyral Hartman Ii

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although LGBT resource centers have been fixtures on college and university campuses for more than 40 years, there is only limited research about these resource centers. To date no empirical evidence exists that supports the impact of LGBT resource centers in the experiences of undergraduate students who make use of these centers. This qualitative study examines the role LGBT resource centers play in the experiences of LGBT students at three Midwestern universities. The qualitative research methods employed for the study were case study and ethnography. Using semi-structured interview data and field observations, five major themes surfaced: (a) perceptions of campus …

A Hermeneutic Exploration Of And Proposed Solution To The Schism Between Researchers And Clinicians In Psychology, Mark S. Green

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fragmentation in the field of psychology has persisted throughout its history (Slife, 2000). One example of this fragmentation is the gap between researchers and clinicians (Teachman, Drabick, Hershenberg, Vivian, & Wolfe 2012). Although many attempts have been made to bridge this gap, there is still no consensus regarding its resolution. This dissertation provides an explanation for the gap at the philosophical level and provides a method for communicating across potentially incommensurable philosophies, based on Gadamer’s (1960/1989) hermeneutic opus: Truth and Method.

Moderating Effects Of Religious Orientation On The Relationship Between Sexual Self-Discrepancies And Guilt And Anxiety, Ann E. Jones

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the moderating effect of religious orientation on the relationship between sexual self-discrepancies and guilt. There is some evidence of a positive correlation between sex-guilt and higher levels of religiosity. In this study it was proposed that sex-guilt in religious individuals is partially driven by discrepancies between actual sexual behaviors and how the individual thinks that they ought or ideally should behave. In order to test this idea a survey was administered to 151 undergraduate students to assess religious orientation, actual, ought, and ideal sexual behaviors, and sex guilt. Gender differences were found in reporting intrinsic religiosity, …

Urban Flash Flood Risk Assessment And Inundation Model Utilizing Gis For Terre Haute, Indiana, Zachary Scott Ishman

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Use of ArcGIS to examine flash flooding variables and produce a flash flood risk assessment and inundation model for Terre Haute, Indiana. Risk assessment, produced within ArcGIS, indicates that an increase in developed area leads to an increase in very high flash flood risk area and majority of very high risk area resides in developed areas of Terre Haute. Inundation model, produced using ArcGIS and Python, indicates that the proposed model can determine locations of flash flooding, but spatial extent of model predicted flooding is not reliable based on field validation.

Seno'o Giro: Life And Thought Of A Radical Buddhist, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Merging The Principles Of Occultism And Anarchism, Kevin Todd Mclaren

History

"Merging the Principles of Occultism and Anarchism" is an attempt to pinpoint the correlations between occult and/or esoteric belief systems and political anarchist philosophy. The paper analyzes the works, belief systems and philosophies of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Aleister Crowley and extracts the underlying anarchist principles that are embedded within them. This established connection to anarchism through occultism is reinforced by referencing various anarchist works, particularly the works of William Godwin.

Divine Omnipotence In Descartes' Philosophy, Alfredo Rodriguez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present thesis explores various aspects of Rene Descartes' doctrine of divine omnipotence within the context of his overall philosophy and with reference to his medieval heritage. This thesis shows that, contrary to his multiple and explicit statements that God's power cannot be limited in any way, Descartes took a more nuanced position on divine omnipotence that incorporated aspects of the widely accepted medieval position that God's goodness is a constraint on his power. Furthermore, Descartes used the medieval concept of universals as he experimented with the use of modes to explain how a thing's actual existence is possible by …

Scientism, Satire, And Sacrificial Ceremony In Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground" And C.S. Lewis's "That Hideous Strength", Jonathan Smalt

Masters Theses

Though the nineteenth-century Victorian belief that science alone could provide utopia for man weakened in the epistemological uncertainty of the postmodern era, this belief still continues today. In order to understand our current scientific milieu--and the dangers of propagating scientism--we must first trace the rise of scientism in the nineteenth-century. Though removed, Fyodor Dostoevsky, in Notes From Underground (1864), and C.S. Lewis, in That Hideous Strength (1965), are united in their critiques of scientism as a conceptual framework for human residency. For Dostoevsky, the Crystal Palace of London's Great Exhibition (1862) embodied the nineteenth-century goal to found utopia through the …