Bob Sweetman Chairing Panel at University of Toronto

Senior Member Bob Sweetman will be chairing a panel on “Images and Signs” at the upcoming thirty-third Medieval Colloquium, “Imitation, Emulation and Forgery: Pretending and Becoming in the Medieval World” to be held on March 2 and 3. This colloquium is presented by The Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto.

Joe Kirby Presenting Papers

Junior Member Joe Kirby presented a paper titled “ Irony and Compassion: Comparing Existentialism and Tendai Buddhism” at the Religion and Spirituality in Society Conference held in Vancouver on February 20-22.

He will be presenting a paper titled “Traditional Japanese Approaches to the End of Time” at the Seventeenth Annual Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference, to be held at Concordia University in Montreal on March 1.

He will also be presenting a paper titled “Meditations on Life, Death and Technology in the Style of a Japanese Poet” at the fifth annual Stony Brook Philosophy and Art Conference “Still Life?” to be held in New York on March 30 and 31.

Join the Conversation at Ground Motive !

Join the conversation! If you haven’t already been to the Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethic’s recently launched blog, Ground Motive, at http://www.groundmotive.net/ you should give it a try. There are new posts up weekly, and lively discussion in the comments. Ground Motive is “dialogue at the intersection of philosophy, religion and social ethics” and it raises topics that touch us all. This is where the rubber hits the road, where the impact of our everyday living and everyday choices can be reflected on. Whether you are just interested in reading about important issues surrounding social justice and human rights (the current focus of the blog, in honour of the upcoming April conference on that topic) or whether you want to add your voice to the discussion, Ground Motive is a place for you. We hope to hear you there soon!

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.