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Thomas Merton Series to begin Jan. 27 at St. Bonaventure St. Bonaventure University will celebrate the life of Catholic writer and Trappist monk Thomas Merton with a series of lectures and other special programs this semester. The lectures will be held in the Thomas Merton Center (University Ministries), and many will be offered on a Tuesday evening and then at lunchtime the following day to accommodate the schedules of faculty, staff and students. Merton (1915-1968) taught English at what was then St. Bonaventure College over a period of three semesters: fall 1940, spring 1941 and fall 1941. He had been visiting the area since the summer of 1938 with his friend Robert Lax, a native of Olean and classmate of Merton’s at Columbia University. “The young Tom Merton met one of our Franciscan scholars (Fr. Philotheus Boehner, O.F.M.), and from that time on in his writing and his view of the world, he invites us to see things with the eyes in which Saint Francis saw Christ and all creation,” said Fr. Daniel Riley, O.F.M., a member of the Franciscan Heritage Council. Merton authored more than 70 books that include poetry, personal journals, collections of letters, social criticism and writings on peace, justice and ecumenism. “Merton moved from his own embrace of Christ to an embrace of all people and engagement of other religious traditions, from some of the very things he began to learn and pray about during his time at St. Bonaventure,” Riley said. December 2008 marked the 40th anniversary of Merton’s death. A list of spring lecture dates, topics and speakers follows: › 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, and 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28, Thomas Merton’s “Letter to White Liberals,” presented by Dr. Barry Gan, professor of philosophy and director of the Center for Nonviolence, and Dr. Mark Huddle, associate professor of history › 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, and 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, “Learning to Live … In a World of Colors, Cultures and Callings,” presented by Fr. Daniel Riley, O.F.M. › 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17 and 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, “Learning to Love … From Racism to Romance: Finding our Way from our Head to our Heart,” presented by Fr. Daniel Riley, O.F.M. › 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 13, University Club, Friday Forum (for faculty and staff), “Merton and Contemplation through his Photographs,” presented by Dr. Anthony Bannon, director of the George Eastman House, Rochester, N.Y. › 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, “Wisdom and Prophecy: The Two Poles of Thomas Merton’s Mature Spirituality,” presented by Dr. Patrick O’Connell, associate professor of theology at Gannon University and a pre-eminent Merton scholar In addition to the speaker series, Mt. Irenaeus will host Bannon on Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14, for an overnight at the Mountain. The topic will be “Reflections on Thomas Merton” and participants can sign up in the Merton Center or call (716) 375-2096. Departure will be from the Thomas Merton Center at 4 p.m., March 13. A 6 p.m. supper will be followed by a presentation. On Saturday, there will be a presentation at 10 a.m. and the day will conclude with lunch. Those interested in attending only the presentations are welcome to do so. Also, on Wednesday, April 1, University Ministries will hold a rededication of the Thomas Merton Center with Fr. Robert Struzynski, O.F.M., coordinator of academic programs for Mt. Irenaeus, as the presenter, and Robert Donius, vice president for University Ministries, as presider. The events are sponsored by the Franciscan Heritage Council with special thanks to Paul Spaeth and Dennis Frank of Friedsam Memorial Library. Members of the Franciscan Heritage Council include University Ministries, Office of Franciscan Mission, Clare College, Franciscan Center for Social Concern, Mt. Irenaeus, Franciscan Friars, and The Journey Project. Click here to return to the top of the page ____________________ St. Bonaventure inducts two into Sigma Delta Pi honor society Two students were inducted into Sigma Delta Pi, the national Spanish Honor Society, during a ceremony Dec. 15, 2008, at St. Bonaventure University. Membership in the honor society is open to all students who are at least second semester sophomores and have at least one upper level course in Spanish culture or civilization. In addition, they must have at least a B average in the Spanish courses. Students inducted were Spanish major Karlin R. Ames from Falconer, N.Y., and modern language major Kari L. Tarnowksi from Brocton, N.Y. Three new officers were elected for the 2009-2010 school year. They are: Tarnowksi, president, Ames, vice president and Meghan Whitcomb, secretary.The adviser for the chapter is assistant professor Dr. Leigh Simone of the Department of Modern Languages. Sigma Delta Pi was established on Nov. 14, 1919, at the University of California in Berkeley. It is the only honor society devoted exclusively to students of Spanish in four-year colleges and universities. It conducts an ever-increasing scholarship program for active members and annually presents a number of awards for study in Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Click here to return to the top of the page _____________________ St. Bonaventure’s Horowitz to discuss early 20th century Argentina in Extraordinary Classroom Series Dr. Joel Horowitz, a noted scholar on Argentina and professor of history at St. Bonaventure, will discuss “Immigrants, Soccer Clubs and Assimilation in Early 20th Century Argentina” at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, as part of the Extraordinary Classroom Experiences Series. His talk will be held in Walsh Auditorium and is free and open to the public. Ten copies his new book, “Argentina’s Radical Party and Popular Mobilization, 1916-1930,” will be given away on a lottery basis, with all those in attendance eligible to win one. The author will sign the books. “Argentina’s Radical Party and Popular Mobilization” examines democracy’s first appearance in a country that appeared to satisfy all the criteria that political development theorists of the 1950s and 1960s identi?ed as crucial. This experiment lasted in Argentina from 1916 to 1930, when it ended in a military coup that left a troubled political legacy for decades to come. In the book, Horowitz challenges previous interpretations that emphasize the role of clientelism and patronage. He argues that they fail to account fully for the Radical Party government’s ability to mobilize widespread popular support. Instead, by comparing the administrations of Hipólito Yrigoyen and Marcelo T. de Alvear, he shows how much depended on the image Yrigoyen managed to create for himself: a secular savior who cared deeply about the less fortunate and the embodiment of the nation. The Extraordinary Classroom Experiences Series is a forum for the presentation and celebration of vitally engaging learning environments at St. Bonaventure University. Through this series, University faculty invite the campus community to attend a particular lecture, class exercise, or presentation that exemplifies a faculty member’s passion and expertise. Click
here for a printable .pdf listing of the Extraordinary Classroom
Experience Series. _____________________ Franciscan Friars from Holy Name Province Offer Free St. Paul Lenten Booklet
Holy Name Province is the largest group of Franciscan Friars in the U.S. with more than 350 members.
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All SBU faculty,
staff and Date: Friday,
Jan 23, 2009
Click here to return to the top of the page _____________________
The National Park Service (NPS) is now featuring a series of short videos on its Web site produced by Chris Mackowski, associate professor of journalism and mass communication. Mackowski created the videos to help promote Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (FSNMP), a Civil War park in central Virginia. The videos appear on the park's Web page. Two of the videos highlight the unique features of FSNMP, and two of the videos highlight the park's internship program. A fifth video, also aimed at prospective interns, will appear later this month.
The videos can be
viewed at:
Dr. Chris Stanley, professor of theology, has signed a contract with Augsburg Fortress Press to edit a book of essays by various scholars analyzing the life and letters of the apostle Paul through the lens of postcolonial studies. The book will be published in 2010, and will include two essays by Stanley. Postcolonial studies is an interdisciplinary mode of analysis that investigates the effects of colonialism on subject peoples and their rulers. This is a pioneering work, as very little work has been done so far in analyzing the letters of Paul through a postcolonial lens.
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