Smith, Students Present at Religion Conference

Ripon College Professor Brian Smith, Charles and Joan Van Zoeren Chair in Religion, Ethics, and Values, made a presentation at the Spring Conference of the American Academy of Religion’s Midwest Region at Ohio Northern University on April 4 and 5. Smith’s paper was titled, “Ambiguous Prophetic Role of the Catholic Church Under Authoritarian Regimes: The Chilean Bishops’ Response to the Military Coup of 1973,” and was presented as part of a panel focused on religion, politics and oppression.

Smith also brought three Ripon College seniors to the conference who presented papers:

  • LaTia Rodgers ‘14, a religion and English major, presented “Buddhism and the Environment,” a senior seminar project examining the resources Buddhism offers for greater environmental awareness.
  • Elizabeth Blum ’14, a global studies and politics and government major, contributed “Social Justice in the Pulpit: A Small Town Study.” During her research, Blum did interviews with all active clergy in the city of Ripon, asking if, and how, they preach about issues of social justice. Her work was supported by a summer 2012 grant from the Ethical Leadership program.
  • Amanda Gesiorski ’14, a history and anthropology major, presented “Women with Habits: Two Life Histories of Catholic Sisters.” Gesiorski gathered in-depth interviews with retired Catholic nuns in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, reflecting on their lives. The work was based on a paper she wrote in an independent study class in Anthropology.

To read more about the Religion Department at Ripon College, click here.

[retweet]


Related Posts

Jan Plane speaking at national conference

Jandelyn Plane recognized with award for broadening computing education

Jandelyn “Jan” Plane, associate professor of computer and data sciences, received a 2024 ACM SIGCSE Award. ACM SIGCSE is the Association of Computing Machinery Special […]

Image of a haunted house

Auditions to be held Wednesday for student-directed, one-act horror play

Auditions will be held Wednesday, March 27, for a new play written and directed by Pierce Reese-Grimm ’24 of Wautoma, Wisconsin. “Ties that Bind and […]

2023-2024 Ethics Bowl team

Ethics Bowl team represents Ripon at national competition

At the 28th annual National Ethics Bowl Competition held Feb. 25-26 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Ripon College Ethics Bowl team won one preliminary round and […]

Paul Dietrich

Paul Dietrich releases fourth album of music, supports it with a tour

Paul Dietrich, adjunct instructor of music, released his fourth album as a leader, “5+4,” in October and supported it with a small tour in February. […]