Northeast Region
Regional director: Gregor Thuswaldner, Gordon College, gregor.thuswaldner@gordon.edu
2012 Regional Meeting: "Christianity in the Public Square: The Literatures of Politics, Protest and Social Justice"
November 2-3, 2012
King's College, Wilkes-Barre, PA
We will be hearing a reading of original work on Friday evening, November 2nd, from Jim Daniels, the Thomas Stockman Baker Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, where he has taught creative writing since 1981. Jim writes profoundly on work and other issues affecting our society; has published anthologies of poetry, short stories and screenplays; and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Brittingham Prize for Poetry, NEA fellowships, and awards from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Call for Papers: In this period of presidential campaigning and partisan politics, when religion often becomes quite divisive in public rhetoric, how do we understand our Christian vocation and the faith we share? Its role in the public sphere has been hotly debated for years in America, especially given how one interprets the "separation of Church and State" that we have traditionally been taught and maintained. Add to this mix the recent phenomena of the Tea Party and Occupy movements and a tradition of social and political activism, in person and online (Change.org, Credo, etc.), that is creating a place for itself in public life and discourse. Much of this shares roots in social theology and teachings on social justice handed down from mainline Christianity.
We seek papers that deal with current and past literatures on the role of protest, Christian faith, and/or social justice in society. How have others before us, and how do we, envision the place of faith in a pluralistic society? How has that vision evolved, and does it need to change? Papers might also consider utopian and dystopian literatures and what they have contributed to our understanding and to the discussion. What does literature tell people of faith about how--or even whether--we should preach it loudly, or instead, practice it quietly in our dealings with one another and with the systems of power that we encounter in the public sphere?
We will also consider papers more broadly interested in the intersection of Christianity and literature. Please email one-page abstracts and session proposals by July 15 to: anthonygrasso@kings.edu
Rev. Anthony Grasso, CSC, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Manus Cooney Professor of Humanities
King's College
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711-0801