Free CCC Lecture Series on Religion

One of the greatest needs in today’s world is the promotion of peace and understanding between people of different faiths. This need is particularly urgent among Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Camden County College’s Fall 2008 free public lecture series, “Abraham’s Children: The History of Judaism, Christianity and Islam,” will address this need by exploring the origins and stressing the similarities of the three religions. Coordinated by CCC Professor John L. Pesda and funded by a grant from the New Jersey Council on the Humanities, the series will feature distinguished scholars tracing the relationships among these faiths from ancient times to the present.

The talks will begin at 7pm on six Wednesdays from September through November. Each will be given in Civic Hall of the Madison Connector Building on the college’s Blackwood Campus, which is located on College Drive in Gloucester Township.

Scheduled are:

? Sept. 10 – “Re-Thinking the Jewish Middle Ages.” Paola Tartakoff of Rutgers University will show that extended periods of peace existed among Jews, Christians and Muslims from 711 to 1492.

? Sept. 17 – “Jewish Encounters with Modernity.” Beth Wanger of the University of Pennsylvania will discuss how the changes that occurred during the modern period transformed forever the nature of Jewish culture.

? Oct. 1 – “Strangers in the Empire: The Landscape of Early Christianity.” Amy Oden of Wesley Theological Seminary will examine the formation of Christian identity in relation to Roman culture and the Jewish community.

? Oct. 8 – “Christian Enthusiasm and the Decline of Christendom.” James Deming of Princeton Theological Seminary will review the history of the church in society, describe the contradictions that existed between Christian ideals and practices and discuss the resulting intolerance.

? Oct. 22 – “Origins and Basic Beliefs of Islam.” Jawid Mojaddedi of Rutgers University will show how Islam does, to some extent, correlate to its Abrahamic predecessors and employ a similar monotheistic worldview and system of ethics.

? Oct. 29 – “Muslim Women Reclaiming Islam: The Jihad Against Patriarchal Culture.” Carolyn Grace Baugh of the University of Pennsylvania will explore how women are depicted in the Quran and the many misconceptions that have been perpetuated by cultural Islam.

? Nov. 12 – “Sharing History: Muslims, Christians and Jews in the Modern Middle East.” Heather J. Sharkey of the University of Pennsylvania will discuss how Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities have interacted in the Middle East and North Africa and what the long-term implications are for contemporary relations.

CCC has been designated as an official New Jersey Professional Development Provider and an official Pennsylvania Department of Education Act 48 Professional Provider. As a result, state-certified teachers can earn three hours of approved professional development for each lecture they attend.

Teachers interested in taking advantage of this opportunity should contact project assistant Dianne Van Haitsma at (856) 227-7200, ext. 4256, or dvanhaitsma@camdencc.edu.

For further details about the series, contact Pesda at (856) 227-7200, ext. 4432, or jpesda@camdencc.edu.

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Author: Press Release--Camden County College