Academic Theme

Religion was the cantus firmus of the founders of St. Olaf College when, in 1874, they created a school associated with the Lutheran Church. From the outset, the Christian religion has been a subject of study and, in the 100 years since the religion department was formed, the scope of topics and the range of approaches expanded to include many of the world’s religions. But at St. Olaf the study and practice of religion are not confined to the Religion Department and Boe Chapel; religion is studied throughout the curriculum as a component of culture, as a factor in ethics, and as an element of visual or performing arts. It is practiced daily in chapel and throughout the campus in student-led groups.

The St. Olaf mission statement affirms our commitment to the liberal arts, a global perspective, and the Christian gospel. These three elements interact through the curriculum and campus activities to achieve a theological literacy for St. Olaf students that helps them to be responsible citizens of the world.

The theme Liberal Learning and Religion will highlight the variety of ways in which the whole college and its members engage in the study and practice of religions.

New events will be posted as they are scheduled.

October November February March April May

September 16 11:30 a.m. Rolvaag 525	Constitution Day Religion and the First Amendment Surely the two religion clauses of the First Amendment present opportunities for religious life in the U.S.A. and require the qualities of mind and habits of thought we seek to cultivate through liberal arts education. Four professors, two each from religion and political science, will make remarks that draw upon their areas of expertise: Edmund Santurri, Two Views of the Religion Clauses Doug Casson, Cross Purposes: Religious Symbols and the Secular State Dan Hofrenning, Religion Lobbies the State Jamie Schillinger, Minority and Majority Understandings of Religion
September 17 through October 24 Dittmann Center Flaten Gallery	THIS HERE NOW, Nature and Human Consciousness The exhibit explores the irreducible nature of human experience and the nature of consciousness. Contemporary artists: Chris Baeumler, Jil Evans, Chris Larson, Guido Alvarez, and Jill Ewald Historic prints from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
September 26 5:30 p.m. Thorson Hall	Kabob Fest What Am I Doing With My Religion Major With St. Olaf Alumni: Elsa Marty, '07 student at The Divinity School, The University of Chicago Matthew Resch, '03, student at Hamline University, School of Law Elizabeth Flom, '02 Masters of Divinity graduate of Luther Seminary Reverend Professor Hieromonk Irenaeus (M.C.) Steenberg, '01, Ph.D., University of Oxford. Principal, St. John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy
September 28 11:45 a.m. Buntrock Commons 142	CILA Faculty Lunch Religion in the Classroom Conversation led by: Brian Borovsky, Physics and Science Conversation Gwen Barnes-Karol, Romance Languages – Spanish Bill Poehlmann, Religion, chair of 2010-11 Academic Theme Committee Anant Rambachan, Religion
October 2 3:30 p.m. Location TBA	Religion on Campus: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow Professors and students share thoughts on the religious “scene” at St. Olaf in living memory, present experiences, and views of the future. All present will be invited to share comments, memories, and questions. Present and past teachers: Jim Hanson, Maggie Odell, Barbara Reed, Steve Swanson, Bruce Benson and Gary Wicks
October 7 7 p.m. Dittmann Center 305	Panel Discussion An engaging and lively discussion with contributing artists to the THIS HERE NOW exhibit in Flaten Gallery, and Professor of Philosophy Charles Taliaferro, Assistant Professor of Religion Mara Benjamin, and Associate Professor of Art and Art History Matt Rohn.
October 6–10 7:30 p.m. October 9– 10 2 p.m. Speech-Theater Building Haugen Theater	Violet Set in the South in the 1960’s, Violet sets off on a journey to a TV evangelist who, she believes, will heal the physical scar she received in a childhood accident. Just as the Civil Rights Movement is gaining momentum, Violet discovers that sometimes what you don’t see is more real than what you do see. Directed by Karen Peterson Wilson
October 20 10:10 a.m. Boe Chapel	Chapel Talk *Religion and Literature* John Barbour, professor of religion
October 28 11:30 a.m. Rolvaag 525	In Celebration of Albert Camus An interdisciplinary panel discussion marks the 50th anniversary of the death of French writer/philosopher Albert Camus(1913-1960),. A faculty panel will discuss major themes in his works. Participants include: Jolene Barjasteh (French), Amine Bekhechi (French), David Booth (Religion), Laurel Carrington (History), Gordon Marino (Philosophy), and Edmund Santurri (Religion). Sponsored by the French section of the Department of Romance Languages
November 4 7 p.m. Location TBD	*Religious Perspectives on Marriage* Panel discussion with faculty from Social Work and Family Studies, Religion and other departments. This is also a Family Week event.
November 9 7 p.m. Buntrock Commons Viking Theater	Reading Author, Sara Miles will read from her books Take this Bread: A Radical Conversion Jesus Freak: Feeding, Healing and Raising the Dead
November 10 10:10 a.m. Boe Chapel	Sara Miles will be the chapel speaker.
February 14 3:30 p.m. Buntrock Commons Viking Theater	Entrepreneurship in Norway's Economic and Religious 19th Century Transformation Bruce Dalgaard, professor of economics and Asian studies Dalgaard discusses the connections between religion and economic change in Norway in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. While the economic impact of marginalized religious groups in Britain is fairly well documented, there is little in the economic history literature on the role of such groups in Scandinavia. This work focuses on the entrepreneurial initiatives of one major religious maverick in Norway, Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824). The literature on nonconformists in Britain is used to inform the discussion of why Hauge came into prominence. Important similarities and differences between Hauge and the nonconformists in Britain are highlighted. Moreover, modern economic theory of entrepreneurship is used to explain Hauge's extensive success as an entrepreneur and business man. This analysis suggests that Hauge's approach to business development stimulated important performance factors, such as motivation, personal agency, and alertness to market disequilibrium.
February 15 7:30 p.m. Buntrock Commons Viking Theater	Doing it Right: Sex, Bodies, and Christianity in American Media Amy Johnson Frykholm, staff writer for Christian Century,and author of: Julian of Norwich: A Contemplative Biography Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America forthcoming Exile: Where Sex Meets the Church Co-sponsored by the Shea Fund
March 14 7:30 p.m. Tomson Hall 280	*Transformative Lutheran Theologies: Feminist, Womanist and Mujerista Perspectives* Presentation by four St. Olaf Alumna Kris Kvam '76, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda '76, Deanna Thompson '89 Marit Trelstad '89 Response by Lori Pearson '90 Co-sponsored with Women’s Studies
April 18 3:30 p.m. Buntrock Commons Viking Theater	*Reclaiming Economics for Christians* Edward Hadas, assistant editor of the Lex column of comment and analysis at the Financial Times is the author of Human Good, Economic Evils: A Moral Approach to the Dismal Science. Hadas has degrees from Columbia University, Wadham College, Oxford and the State University of New York at Binghamton and teaches political and social philosophy at the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, U.K. He received the Business Journalist of the Year Award for economics in 2009. "It is tricky to talk about any economic topic from a truly Christian perspective. The standard professional approach springs from intellectual traditions that are distinctly non-Christian: utilitarianism, enlightenment rationalism, Hegelian dialectic and Marxian materialism. The responses to nearly a century of papal appeals for an economics based on a more Christian vision of society — solidarity broken by sin — have been inadequate, or at least have not created a lively school of thinkers."