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Books & Bridges
Приєднався 11 сер 2020
A humanities forum of ideas and conversation. 501(c)(3) Our mission is to facilitate discussion on the best of human thought. We explore the wisdoms of the world and apply them to modern life. We have no political, religious or ideological affiliation. In a society divided by uncivil discourse, the beauty of the humanities-novels, history, philosophy, poetry, ethics and epics-lifts us to our better angels. In our busy world we need space for friends and fellow learners to do a little more heart-to-heart and mind-to-mind.
The Orator of Abolitionism – Theodore Parker and the Moral Arc
Our guest is Benjamin Park, Associate Professor of History at Sam Houston State University. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and has authored four books, including American Nationalisms, Kingdom of Nauvoo, and American Zion. Today we explore Theodore Parker. This orator of abolitionism, grappled with the meaning of the Bible, challenged the doctrines of Christianity, became a transcendentalist, sheltered fugitive slaves, and spoke with ferocious conscience about social progress. His view of history did not omit the horrors and pain we all see, but he believed the moral trajectory “bends towards justice.” Dr. Park fleshes out the life of a man who passionately defended the downtrodden and spoke against the cultural grain.
Переглядів: 16
Відео
How Literature Deepens Our Discourse: Conversing with Gary Saul Morson
Переглядів 340Місяць тому
Our guest again is Gary Saul Morson, professor of arts, humanities, Slavic languages and literatures at Northwestern University. He is a scholar of steady, reasoned judgment, trained in both literary and philosophical disciplines. We continue our probe of the book Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us, published by Princeton University Press, co-authored by Dr. Morson and econo...
A Discourse Democracy Deserves: Conversing with Gary Saul Morson
Переглядів 86Місяць тому
Our guest is Gary Saul Morson, professor of arts, humanities, Slavic languages, and literature at Northwestern University. He is a scholar of steady reason judgment, trained in both literary and philosophical disciplines. We discuss the book Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us, published by Princeton University Press, co-authored by Dr. Morson and economist Morton Schapiro. W...
To Stand in the Right and Godmade Sun: Earth and Crossing in Cormac McCarthy
Переглядів 5032 місяці тому
Scott Abbott, Professor of Literature & Philosophy at Utah Valley University, and George Handley, Professor of Environmental Humanities at Brigham Young University, explore the intersection of ecology and theology in Cormac McCarthy’s stunning novel The Crossing. Let us hereby honor the one-year anniversary of the great author's death (June 13, 2023). In this panel we discuss some of the thorni...
The Redemptive Heart of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
Переглядів 4227 місяців тому
Steven Frye, Professor of American Literature at California State University, Bakersfield, explores the undercurrents of hope and love flowing beneath catastrophe in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. This Pulitzer-winning novel lays bare the resilience of the human heart amid the collapse of civilization. A father and son trudge a ruined landscape where survival means connecting with each other, rely...
The Timeless Questions of Russian Literature - with Gary Saul Morson
Переглядів 50110 місяців тому
Gary Saul Morson, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Northwestern University, explores the struggle at the heart of Russia’s literary greatness. As a renowned scholar of all things Russian, Dr. Morson brings a lifetime of reflection and analysis to the discussion. Drawing from his new book Wonder Confronts Certainty, Morson weighs the open, curious, probing approach of the artisti...
Honoring the Legacy of Cormac McCarthy
Переглядів 2 тис.Рік тому
Stacey Peebles, Professor of English and Humanities at Centre College, explores the significance of the recently departed Cormac McCarthy. The man saw deep into the pain of this world, but also into its vast wonderful mystery. Admirers who for so long had called him “our greatest living writer” will now have to sit back and allow his legend to cut its own way. For decades we will argue his plac...
Reading Rumi in the 21st Century
Переглядів 249Рік тому
2023 marks the 750th anniversary of the death of Rumi - the great Persian poet who created a major compendium of spiritual poetry and insightful parables. Can classical literature play a meaningful role in our modern society? Using Rumi as a case in point, Rasoul Shams, Director of the Rumi Poetry Club in Salt Lake City, as well as the author/translator of “Rumi: The Art of Loving” and “Rumi Es...
William James in Search of a Pluralistic Universe
Переглядів 457Рік тому
Charles Randall Paul, Founder and President of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy with a PhD from the University of Chicago, discusses the nature of reality and probe whether the universe has a singular or plural default setting. In 1908 the philosopher William James delivered a series of lectures that formed a book titled “A Pluralistic Universe.” In this inquiry, James examined profound r...
The Profound Poetic Vision of William Blake
Переглядів 476Рік тому
Mark Matheson, English Professor at the University of Utah, explores the prophetic insight and mystical creativity of English poet William Blake. As part of the Romantic movement, which included Wordsworth, Keats, and Shelley, Blake lived from 1757 to 1827. He allied with the radical English Protestant tradition, magnifying the belief that each person can have a direct relationship with the div...
The Eternal Questions of Antigone
Переглядів 270Рік тому
Arum Park, Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Arizona, explores the undying force of Antigone and the many meanings of her defiance. Sophocles’ Antigone is one of the most popular Classical Athenian tragedies to stage and adapt. Centering on the aftermath of a violent and deadly brotherly feud, the play presents death, loss, grief, and trauma in ways that have resonated for th...
How to Define a Hero in The Lord of the Rings
Переглядів 1042 роки тому
Krishnan Venkatesh, professor of Eastern and Western classics at St. John’s College, will examine the many meanings of the hero. A war between the forces of Good and Evil for the fate of Middle-Earth would seem to offer a perfect arena for the display of valor and nobility. Yet Tolkien is deeply ambivalent about the heroic ideal. In The Lord of the Rings, we see competing versions of what a her...
Victor Hugo and the Persistence of the Sacred
Переглядів 1462 роки тому
Anca Sprenger, Professor of French and Italian at Brigham Young University, will explore the tension between secular and religious realities in Victor Hugo’s work. Hugo was not baptized, he hated going to mass, lived a life that was very far from Christian morals, and was critical of the Catholic Church. In response, the Church often criticized his writings and banned his books. Like other poet...
Lucretius, Epicurus, and Ethical Humility
Переглядів 3012 роки тому
Mike Pope, Professor of Classics at Brigham Young University, explores the colossal dimensions of the Roman poet, philosopher, and scientist Lucretius. As part of our discussion series on ethical schools of thought, Dr. Pope gives a broad summary of the Epicurean worldview, shows how it fits against the background of Greek and Roman religious culture, and then dives deeper into the Lucretian et...
Ordered Love at the Heart of Christian Ethics: Conversing with James K.A. Smith
Переглядів 4732 роки тому
James K.A. Smith, professor of philosophy at Calvin University and editor in chief of Image journal, presents the latest discussion in our series on the great ethical schools of thought. At the heart of Christian ethics is the ancient biblical call to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. This conversation explores a vision for Christian ethics animated by St. Augustine’s notion of “rig...
Howard Thurman and the Soul of Civil Rights
Переглядів 1742 роки тому
Howard Thurman and the Soul of Civil Rights
Jane Austen and Adam Smith on the Pursuit of Wealth
Переглядів 1112 роки тому
Jane Austen and Adam Smith on the Pursuit of Wealth
Engaging Kant and Aquinas on Rational Ethics
Переглядів 1112 роки тому
Engaging Kant and Aquinas on Rational Ethics
Asymmetries of Meaning in The Book of Esther
Переглядів 822 роки тому
Asymmetries of Meaning in The Book of Esther
Seeing the Soul of King Lear: A Shakespearean Reflection on Unconditional Love
Переглядів 1052 роки тому
Seeing the Soul of King Lear: A Shakespearean Reflection on Unconditional Love
Why the Soul Needs Literature: A Conversation with Terryl Givens
Переглядів 5743 роки тому
Why the Soul Needs Literature: A Conversation with Terryl Givens
The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire
Переглядів 5 тис.3 роки тому
The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn with Ralph Wood
Переглядів 3193 роки тому
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn with Ralph Wood
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on War and Peace with Mark Purves
Переглядів 2,3 тис.3 роки тому
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on War and Peace with Mark Purves
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on Frederick Douglass with Benjamin Park
Переглядів 733 роки тому
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on Frederick Douglass with Benjamin Park
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on Emily Dickinson with Mark Matheson
Переглядів 1193 роки тому
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on Emily Dickinson with Mark Matheson
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on Wordsworth’s Secular Sublime with Terryl Givens
Переглядів 2123 роки тому
Literary Treasures | A Conversation on Wordsworth’s Secular Sublime with Terryl Givens