Spring 2021
Panel of Speakers
This two-part discussion, titled “Creating Inclusive Access to Education, Training & Technology,” featured leaders from various sectors addressing how to create more equitable access to education, training and technology in our community.
Rev. Traci Blackmon, David Campbell, Rev. Serene Jones, Rabbi Rolando Matalon and Iman Eldin Susa
Americans today are deeply divided. Religion has played a crucial role in promoting conflict and polarization, yet religious communities are an essential part of bridging current social and political divides. This panel of religious leaders and experts explored ways that religious communities might become spaces that bridge divides, rather than make them deeper — bridge building that is located in a larger sense of civic engagement and community.
Severine Autesserre
In this discussion, Severine Autesserre, award-winning author, peace builder and researcher, spoke about her new book—which draws upon in-depth field research in twelve different conflict zones to challenge popular beliefs and scholarly ideas about war, peace, and conflict resolution.
Rhonda Magee
Rhonda Magee, Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco, delivered the inaugural lecture of the CRE2 Mindfulness & Anti-Racism series.
David Kertzer and Father John Pawlikowski
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics presented a discussion of the newly unsealed Vatican archives and the role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust.
Antony Shugaar
The 2020-2021 Paul and Silvia Rava lecture titled “Families of Worlds” featured Antony Shugaar.
Zareena Grewal
The Quran is one of the most iconic objects in American debates about racial and religious tolerance. Is the Quran a “good book”? Is it like the Bible and other scriptures? Or is its message more violent, more misogynistic, more intolerant? Or is the danger in the power readers ascribe to the book?
Susan Stokes
Stokes presented a public lecture entitled, “Is ‘Direct Democracy’ Good for Democracy? The Logic(s) of Referendums.” Stokes is the Faculty Chair of the Chicago Center on Democracy, where she guides the strategy and direction of the center.
John C. Danforth and Matt Malone
People of faith in the U.S. today are as politically polarized as other Americans, prompting painful breakdowns in personal relationships and communities. What would it take to accept responsibility for actively healing these political and religious divisions, activating solutions rather than continuing assaults?
John C. Danforth, former U.S. Senator from Missouri; Matt Malone, president and editor-in-chief, America Media
Abbe Smith
Smith, noted criminal defense attorney and professor of law at Georgetown University, discussed her new book, Guilty People.
Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law at Georgetown Law and director of the Criminal Defense & Prisoner Advocacy Clinic
Drew Shindell
Shindell discussed the health, labor and agriculture benefits of climate change mitigation in the U.S. An expert on climate science and policy, he has testified on these issues before both houses of Congress, at the request of both parties, and has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications.
Glenn Hubbard
Hubbard presented the Murray Weidenbaum Tribute Lecture: ‘After the Election: Recovery, Reform and Renewal.'
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Rev. Dr. Zandra Wagoner, Rev. Traci Blackmon, J.T. Snipes
This Interfaith Week discussion titled “Faith in the Fight: Organizing Interfaith & Secular Coalitions for Racial Equity & Justice.”
Susan Wolf
In thinking about what we want for ourselves and for those about whom we care, we tend to think in terms of the categories of self-interest and morality. We want, in other words, to be both happy and good. These categories, however, leave something out: an interest that our lives be meaningful.