Two New Volumes from Senior Member Neal DeRoo

Senior Member Neal DeRoo recently co-edited two new volumes on the philosophy of gratitude and of liturgy. Click on the titles below to read more about each volume and find out how to get a copy of your own. 

Philosophies of Liturgy: Explorations of Embodied Religious Practice

Edited by J. Aaron Simmons, Bruce Ellis Benson, Neal DeRoo. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023. 

Neal also authored chapter 9, titled: “Material Spirituality and the Expressive Nature of Liturgy.”

Philosophical Perspectives on Existential Gratitude: Analytic, Continental, and Religious

Edited by Joshua Lee Harris, Kirk Lougheed, Neal DeRoo. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023.

This volume also features chapters by ICS alums Joshua Lee Harris and Ethan Vanderleek.

ICS Hosting Society for Ricouer Studies Annual Conference: October 12-14

The Institute for Christian Studies is hosting the 2023 Society for Ricoeur Studies Conference taking place online and in person at Regis College (100 Wellesley Street West) at the Toronto School of Theology. 

The theme of this year's conference is: Ricoeur in Practice, and the keynote speakers are Stephanie Arel (Fordham University) and Scott Davidson (West Virginia University). Dr. Arel will speak on "Ricoeur and Hope: Living after Rupture," and Dr. Davidson will speak on "What Makes ChatGPT Think? Ricoeur and Generative AI." 

You can view the full conference program here or by visiting ricoeursociety.org/conferences.

ICS President Ronald A. Kuipers will open the conference and moderate a session, Associate Director of the CPRSE Héctor Acero Ferrer will be moderating one of the panels and will present a paper titled "'Our-self as Another?' Understanding the Development of Narrative Identity in Ecclesial Base Communities through the Lens of Paul Ricoeur," and ICS alumnus Andrew Tebbutt will be presenting a paper titled "Who is the Subject of Recognition? Ricoeur’s Institutional Hermeneutics." 

Register to Attend Online or In Person

• USD$80 for faculty
• USD$50 for students
• USD$25 for non-grad student ONLINE 

ICS Staff Changes

Over the summer, we said goodbye to Librarian Peter Gorman and Academic Registrar Elizabet Aras. Peter took a job at the Canadian Music Centre, and Elizabet has moved on to a job in Manitoba. We want to give our heartfelt thanks to both Peter and Elizabet for their faithful service to the educational mission of ICS during their tenures, and we wish them all the best in their new endeavours. 

We would also like to welcome two new hires to the ICS team: Parker Cotton as the Academic Registrar and Anita Siraki as the Librarian.

Parker started in this position on August 28. He is a PhD student at Wycliffe College, Toronto, working on the French philosopher and advocate of religious toleration, Pierre Bayle (1647-1706). Parker is also a contributing editor of the blog of the Journal of the History of Ideas. He volunteers in his home town of Bradford West Gwillimbury as a member of the town's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee.

Anita started with ICS on August 21. She comes to ICS with a Master of Information degree from the University of Toronto and work experience that includes York University (Toronto), the Library of Parliament (Ottawa), and the Faculty of Information library at the University of Toronto. Anita is multilingual, fluent in both English and French. Anita completed a practicum project at the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies at Victoria University in the University of Toronto called “Print Culture in France During the Ancien Régime” (2017), which looked at how the French monarchy and government exercised control over the print culture of France in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Additionally, Anita has published academic papers related to media properties including “Lovecraft Country” (2020), discussing issues of race, and has also presented at conferences including the Ann Radcliffe Conference, Fear 2000 (Sheffield Hallam University), as well as others. 

We are so excited to welcome Anita and Parker to ICS and look forward to the contributions they will make to the community in these vital roles!

Oct 16: Scripture, Faith, and Scholarship Symposium with Neal DeRoo

Our newest Senior Member Dr. Neal DeRoo will be leading our next Scripture, Faith, and Scholarship symposium on Monday, October 16 at 2pm ET at Knox College, hosted by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics. Dr. DeRoo will present on the topic: The Heart of Philosophy/Philosophy of the Heart. This event will take place both in person and online.

When? 

Monday, October 16, 2pm ET

Where? 

Classroom 3, Knox College, 59 St. George Street, Toronto

Online via Zoom

What?
How can the biblical notion of the heart inform our understanding of philosophy, and how can philosophy help us think through all the implications of the biblical notion of the heart? That is the two-fold question to be pursued in this talk. It will lay out a vision of humanity as heart-ed beings, image bearers who cannot help but express something else in everything they do. It will then pick up the theme of spirituality to talk about what is expressed through human actions, exploring what spirits are being expressed in our common life together and how philosophy can be a tool to help creation better express the spirit of God. 

If you would like to join this event via Zoom, please email cprse@icscanada.edu to receive the link. 

Jim Olthuis Book Reviewed by Brian Walsh

On September 25, Brian Walsh published a book review of ICS Senior Member Emeritus Jim Olthuis' book Dancing in the Wild Spaces of Love in the Christian Courier. Here is a brief excerpt from Brian's review: 

What does it mean if we rethink our theology, our Christian practice, and indeed, the very cosmos, from the perspective of love? What happens to doctrines like God’s omnipotence (all powerful), immutability (never changing), omniscience (all knowing), and sovereignty (in total control), if we begin with love? What happens to Christian ethics if the touchstone isn’t absolute law, but a dynamic relationship forged in love? How does such an understanding that all things are generated, sustained and directed to love change our view of the very nature of things?

Read the rest of the review for yourself in the Christian Courier or on their website at https://www.christiancourier.ca/put-on-your-dancing-shoes/.

Sep. 29 Book Launch: 15th Anniversary Edition of Beyond Homelessness

On Friday, September 29th, the Sanctuary community in Toronto will be hosting the book launch of the 15th anniversary edition of Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement by Steven Bouma-Prediger and Brian Walsh.

There will be live music, refreshments provided, and a book-signing and short presentation by co-author Brian Walsh. Books will be available on site for purchase! 

When?

Friday, September 29

7:00-9:00pm

Where?

Sanctuary

25 Charles Street E.

Toronto, ON

Want to hear more about the book? 

Brian was a recent guest on an episode of Alan Graham's podcast Gospel Con Carne. Have a listen to the conversation here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://mlf.org/a-conversation-with-beyond-homelessness-author-brian-walsh/.