“Elon on 9/11”

Panel discussion with Leo Lambert, Ann Bolin, Ann Cahill, Brian Feeley, and Richard McBride

Wednesday, September 8, 7 pm, Elon Community Church

Former and current Elon University community members spoke on their personal experiences of being on campus during the Sept. 11 attacks and how that day changed the course of Elon’s initiatives. Moderated by Mark Dalhouse, director for global initiatives and assistant professor, the panel included President Emeritus Leo Lambert, professor Ann Cahill, Professor Emerita Anne Bolin, Chaplain Emeritus Richard McBride, and Assistant Vice President for Annual Giving and Alumni Engagement Brian Feeley ’03. Each individual shared stories of grief for the lives lost but hope for the future of the country.

Anthony Petro (Boston University) author of After the Wrath of God: AIDS, Sexuality, and American Religion (Oxford University Press, 2015)

In his book After the Wrath of God, Anthony Petro looks at the religious response to the emergence of AIDS in the United States in the 1980s and 90s. The book examines how American religious leaders and organizations developed perspectives concerning AIDS’ long-standing association with moral difficulties and being compassionate for the sick. After the Wrath of God shows how AIDS was—and is still is— used as a tool for developing “moral citizenship” and “social sensibilities” about who is deserving of inclusion and care.

“Tradition and Innovation in Korean Dance,” lecture-demonstration

Professor Jiwon Ha, Guest Choreographer-in-Residence Hyoin Jun, Multifaith Scholar Emily Wilbourne, and Moderator Casey Avaunt

Thursday, October 28, 6:30 pm, McKinnon Stage

Emily Wilbourne ‘22 combined her interreligious studies and dance minors with the Multifaith Scholars program by studying Seungmu, a national Korean folk dance. Wilbourne spent the summer of 2021 in Busan, South Korea learning about the dance and conducting interviews to learn how the tradition, initially performed by Buddhist monks, came to be a widely performed cultural presentation. Wilbourne presented her research at the Tradition & Innovation in Korean Dance event, sharing the richness and depth of Korean dance both then and now. Professor of dance Casey Avaunt and professor of religious studies Pamela Winfield who worked as Wilboure’s mentors for the Multifaith Scholars program helped plan and create the event to recognize Wilbourne’s studies. In addition to highlighting Wilbourne’s work, the event also featured adjunct instructor in performing arts Jiwon Ha, who helped guide Wilbourne’s studies, Korean guest artist Hyoin Jun, who performed his contemporary piece “Battery”, and a performance of a Korean fan dance featuring Elon dance students.

“The Struggle for Home and Homeland: American Jews and Zionism from the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform to Judith Butler”

Shaul Magid (Dartmouth College)

Dartmouth College professor Shaul Magid spoke about the history of Zionism in America and its long and complex story of two competing and contrasting trajectories: Jewish nationalism on the one hand and Jewish Americanism on the other. Magid outlined some of the main points of contention between these two trajectories, beginning with the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform that rejects Zionism outright and then moving to the Zionism of Louis Brandeis, the critical Zionism of Hannah Arendt, and the new diasporic of Judith Butler.

Transqueer Activist, Latinx Scholar and Public Theologian Robyn Henderson-Espinoza

Sponsored by the Spirit and Pride Initiative and Religious Studies Department

Students had the opportunity to meet and talk with TransQueer Latinx activist and scholar Dr.Robyn Henderson Espinoza. Espinoza, who currently working at Duke University Divinity School and McCormick Theological Seminary as a visiting professor, spoke to students about their studies and experiences working with intersectionality in the realm of scholarship and activism.