Interfaculty Colloquium Feb 15

The Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics is hosting the third session of the Toronto Interfaculty Colloquium for the 2011-12 academic year on Wed., February 15. For this session, Fr. Mario O. D’Souza will present his paper “Philosophers of Education: Jacques Maritain, Bernard Lonergan, and the Question of Classicism”. Fr. D’Souza is Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College and an Associate Member of the School of Graduate Studies for Theory and Policy Studies in Education at OISE/UT. ICS Professor of Education and Academic Dean Dr. Doug Blomberg will provide commentary on Fr. D’Souza’s paper and CPRSE Director Dr. Lambert Zuidervaart will moderate a group discussion of the colloquium participants. The Interfaculty Colloquium takes place at the Toronto School of Theology building.

Online Registration for Social Justice & Human Rights Conference

Online registration is now available for the Social Justice and Human Rights Conference, to be held April 27-28 at Emmanuel College, through the conference website at http://conference.icscanada.edu/registration. The advance registration fee is $95 for the full two days and includes two lunches, refreshments at breaks and a complimentary ticket to the public lecture by Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff on the Friday evening. There is a reduced registration rate of $50 for current students with valid ID.

We encourage those interested in attending this important cross-sectoral conference to register online soon since space is limited. If you prefer to pay the registration fee by cheque, please contact Kathy at ICS reception to register by phone (416-979-2331, ext. 221) or email (klynch@icscanada.edu) instead. Note that the in-person registration fee will increase to $110 (or $55 for students) for registration at the door, space permitting.

Feb 3: Richard Middleton in Rochester NY

ICS Alumnus Richard Middleton is giving a public lecture in Rochester, NY on Friday, February 3 at 6 pm. The title of the lecture is "The Subversive Spirituality of Reggae: 'Resisting Against the System' in the Music of Bob Marley and the Wailers”. This lecture is part of a series celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jamaican Independence (1962), sponsored by the Rochester Jamaican Organization, the Program in Black Church Studies at Colgate Rochester Divinity School, and the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies at the University of Rochester. The lecture will be presented at The Baobab Cultural Center, 728 University Avenue, Rochester.

Hungering for a New Politics: The Life’s Work of Gerald Vandezande

Toronto area readers, there will be a special event to remember Gerald Vandezande, who passed away last summer. He was a co-founder of Citizens for Public Justice, member of the Order of Canada and a tireless Christian activist.

On Friday, February 17, at 7 pm at the First Christian Reformed Church of Toronto, 67 Taunton Road, come to view video, hear speakers, and celebrate Gerald’s many contributions to public justice and community.

On Saturday, February 18, from 9 am until 12 pm at Wycliffe College, 5 Hoskin Avenue, come to hear speakers and participate in workshops on the issues Gerald cared about, including housing, family and child poverty, government interaction, becoming neighbours (advocacy for refugees, aboriginal concerns, interreligious dialogue), and the environment.

Please join us for these free events.

Responses to the Enlightenment: An Exchange on Foundations, Faith, and Community

ICS Senior Member Emeritus Henk Hart's new book Responses to the Enlightenment: An Exchange on Foundations, Faith, and Community is now available.

From the publisher's website:
"[the book] is a dialogue between Hendrik Hart and William Sweet, two philosophers who identify themselves as Christians, and who seek to respond to the challenges of the Enlightenment and its legacy. The authors approach the relation of faith to reason, however, in very different ways: Hart from the perspective of the Calvinian tradition and postmodern philosophy, Sweet from the Catholic tradition and analytic philosophy. Among the topics discussed are the nature of religious faith and of reason, liberalism and orthodoxy in religion, the relation of religious experience and rationality, and building community in a religiously and culturally pluralistic world."

More on the book can be found at
www.rodopi.nl/ntalpha.asp?BookId=VIBS+241&type=coming&letter=P

Apr 2012: Social Justice and Human Rights Conference

The Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics is hosting a two-day interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral conference on Social Justice and Human Rights, co-sponsored by Emmanuel College, taking place on April 27 and 28, 2012 at Victoria University in the University of Toronto. This conference will bring together participants from a wide diversity of interests, such as scholars and academic researchers, practitioners engaged in social justice and rights advocacy, leaders from various faith traditions, and other citizens who wish to reflect on the themes of the conference.

Full details about the Social Justice and Human Rights Conference will be available on the conference website at http://conference.icscanada.edu due to be launched on December 5th.