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| DATE |
SPEAKER /
RESPONDENT |
TOPIC |
VIDEO |
| Mon Jan 25,
5:00-6:30 pm PST ONLINE |
David Wang, Emeritus Professor of Architecture,
Washington State University Philip Bess, Professor of Architecture, Notre Dame University   |
"Sacrament
in Everyday Places"
When moral orders within us rhyme with
the orderliness of the cosmos, the potential arises for
sacramental experience. Until modern times,
architecture has always served as the material nexus
between the subjective "personal" realm and the enormous
cosmos. This presentation argues for the incarnational bases
for this kind of experience of architecture -- not so much
in iconic places like Chartres Cathedral or the Great Wall
of China, but in everyday places like cafeterias, or
even traffic jams. Without cultivation of
incarnational presence, architecture reduces to stage
sets. And contemporary urban environments are a cacophony
of stage sets. The presentation suggests five ways to
retrieve sacramental presence in the architecture of
everyday experience:
For
over 20 years Professor David Wang taught graduate
courses in history and theory, interdisciplinary ethics
and practice, research methods, and foundation courses
in design and construction at Washington State
University. Wang is the co-author of Architectural
Research Methods (2002, second edition 2013, John
Wiley & Sons, with Linda Groat) and has lectured on
architectural research nationally as well as in China
and Europe. He is also author of A Philosophy of
Chinese Architecture Past, Present, Future
(Routledge 2017), and the newly published book Architecture and
Sacrament: A Critical Theory (Routledge 2020).
Professor Wang has published on architectural theory and
research methods in numerous journals.
|
|
| Mon Mar 15, 4:30-6:00 pm PDT ONLINE | Klyne Snodgrass, Emeritus Professor of New Testament,
North Park Theological Seminary Scott Starbuck, Lecturer, Religious Studies, Gonzaga University / Teaching Elder, Manito Presbyterian Church (Spokane WA)  |
"Biblical Hermeneutics: More Important
than God?" One
biblical scholar has suggested that
hermeneutics is more important than God,
because the hermeneutics by which we interpret the
Bible determines what we believe about
God. Hermeneutics—the process by which we
understand and appropriate
communication—determines life, is the
presupposition of all interpretation and
theology, is the cause of many of our
disagreements, and is as complex as life
itself. There is no more important or
fascinating topic for Christians. While
debates about biblical hermeneutics
address a number of themes, I advocate a
four-fold hermeneutic that provides
insight for interpretation of Scripture
and fruitful results for living: a
hermeneutics of critical realism, a
hermeneutics of action, a hermeneutics of
hearing, and a hermeneutics of identity. A
hermeneutics of critical realism concerns
the reality of the text itself and the
reality of the process of communication. A
hermeneutics of action is a development
from speech-act theory and recognizes that
texts are the result of action and are
intended to produce action. A hermeneutics
of hearing emphasizes both the demand of
Scripture to hear and gives attention to
oneself as a hearer. A hermeneutics of
identity focuses on the purpose of the
text to tell us who we are and should
become. Taken together, these four
approaches allow us to clear away the
cobwebs and read the text honestly and
appropriate its message.
|
|
| Mon Apr 26, 5:00-6:30 pm PDT ONLINE | Duane Armitage, Philosophy, University of Scranton Dan Bradley, Philosophy, Gonzaga University  |
"Violence
and Victimization in Continental and Postmodern
Philosophy and Politics" A new book by Duane
Armitage (Philosophy, Scranton), Philosophy's
Violent Sacred: Heidegger and
Nietzsche through Mimetic Theory (Michigan State
University Press, 2021), criticizes the failure of
Postmodernism to
uncover the root cause of violence and victimization.
For Postmodernism
violence is caused by absolutism, essentialism, and
rationality; in short,
according to Postmodernism, absolute truth
marginalizes. Further, the Postmodern
critique of rationality is an offshoot and development
of a critique of
rationality central to Continental Philosophy.
Armitage argues that the
Continental / Postmodern diagnosis of violence and
victimization is a failure,
and thus that its prescription to address the problem
fails as well. In
contrast, Armitage offers a counter-explanation of
violence and victimization
drawn from the Mimetic Theory of Rene
Girard. Girard argues that it is not
truth, but group formation itself that is inherently
violent and that such
violence is essentially social and religious in
nature. Armitage will
conclude with a brief discussion of modern political
violence in the US as
fitting the schema of mimetic theory. |
Virtual Meeting
conducted via Zoom Please
note: No
registration or password required for attendance.
Participation in this meeting
requires an authenticated Zoom account (one associated
with a functioning
email). You must log on to Zoom via an existing
authenticated Zoom account or
create a new account (go to https://zoom.us/signup and
sign up for a free account
if you do not have one)
 |
INFORMATION
For information about the Gonzaga Socratic Club or to
propose topics or speakers for future meetings, contact the
Club Director: