The mission of the Center for Spiritual Life is to challenge the mind, nurture the spirit and develop the talents of all those who utilize the services of the Center.
Read Our CovenantBurchenal Lecture Series
Celebrating the 2018–19 College Program Series Theme:
Citizens: Activism, Poetry & Art
Is This a Bonhoeffer Moment? Exploring Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ethic of Responsible Action
Lori Brandt Hale, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Religion, Augsburg University
Tuesday, February 26, 2019, 7:30 p.m., Triton Room
Dr. Lori Brandt Hale will introduce the complicated life, death and legacy of German theologian, pastor, peace activist, (would-be) poet and Nazi-resister Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) and his influence on contemporary political and theological issues. Special focus will be given to the recent use of the idea that some of those political issues constitute a “Bonhoeffer Moment” as well as sorting out what that means.
Ecowomanism: African American Women and Earth Honoring Faiths
Melanie L. Harris, Ph.D., Professor of Religion and Ethics, Texas Christian University; Visiting Professor of Ethical Leadership and Global Environmental Studies, University of Denver
Thursday, March 28, 2019, 7:30 p.m., Fox Hall
Ecowomanism is an approach to environmental ethics that centers the voices of women of African descent and uncovers their contributions to the environmental justice movement. Dr. Melanie L. Harris’s lecture will engage theory and praxis as she introduces the ecowomanist method and discusses the significance of the environmental justice paradigm; a theoretical lens through which one can see the intersections between racial, gender, economic and environmental injustices. The lecture will also invite participants to reflect on their own eco-stories and earth justice commitments.
Previous Burchenal Lectures
- A New and Unsettling Force: The Poor People’s Campaign and the Fight to End Poverty
The Rev. Liz Theoharis, Ph.D, Presbyterian Minister, Social Activist and Writer
Tuesday, October 23, 2018 – 7:30 p.m., Fox Hall - The World Is Wrong: Microaggressions, Poetics and the Problem of Evil in Citizen
Daniel Spoth, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Literature, Eckerd College
Thursday, September 20, 2018 – 7:30 p.m., Fox Hall - Shaved Heads and Celibate Bodies: Gender and Freedom in Female Buddhist Monasticism
Amy Paris Langenberg, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Eckerd College
Tuesday, March 27, 2018, 7.30 p.m., Fox Hall
