The Willson Lectures
The Willson Lectureship was established at Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion in 1967 by Dr. and Mrs. J.M. Willson of Floydada, Texas.
Daniel Smith-Christopher
. . . teaches Old Testament in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University, where he joined the faculty in 1989. He is a graduate of George Fox College (B.A.), the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (M.Div.), and Oxford University (Ph.D.).
Daniel's field of interests is diverse. An active member of the Religious Society of Friends, he served for two years in volunteer peace research in Israel/Palestine from 1986-87 and maintains an active interest in peace issues. His is in his sixth season as a consultant for Arts & Entertainment Network series, "Mysteries of the Bible," and the History Channels "Ancient Mysteries."
This Friend has published numerous scholarly articles and book reviews. His own books include The Religion of the Landless, a commentary on the book of Daniel in The New Interpreter's Bible, and a forthcoming work on Ezra-Nehemiah will appear in The Oxford Bible Commentary.
The topic for this year's Willson lectures grows out of Daniel's particular interests in how cultural and ethnic backgrounds influence the reading and interpretation of Biblical texts. He edited a volume of scholarly essays on this subject in Text and Experience: Toward a Cultural Exegesis of the Bible. His current research in South Dakota with the Rosebud Lakota nation, the Cree in Manitoba, and Aboriginal Australians is the basis for his forthcoming book on the subject of "cultural exegesis" of the Bible. The practical, teaching dimensions of this interest is carried out creatively in "traveling class" Daniel teaches at LMU, in which students visit 10 churches from different cultural backgrounds, exploring "Faith and Ethnicity in Los Angeles."
Schedule
Monday, March 29, 1999
Stout Meetinghouse Earlham College 7:30 p.m.
"What is Cultural Exegesis of the Bible?"
Reception immediately following in the Wymondham Room.
Tuesday, March 30, 1999
Quigg Worship Room 10:00 a.m.
"It Sounds Like Us; Reading the Book of Daniel with Lakota, Cree, and
Aboriginal Australian Christians."
ESR Dinning Room 11:20 a.m.(lunch is served).
"Cultural Exegesis at the Bull and Mouth: Thoughts on Quaker Biblical
Hermeneutics."
For more information, contact:
Earlham School of Religion
228 College Avenue
Richmond, IN 47374
1-800-432-1377