Morrey Davis: A Drew Story
When he arrived on the Drew campus in 1995 to begin his doctorate in Theological and Religious Studies at the Graduate School, Morris Davis, or Morrey as most people call him, had no idea he would one day become the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the Seminary. Dean Davis notes that his decision to pursue doctoral studies was motivated by very personal reasons…the pursuit of answers to persistent questions he’d had. “That was fuel for me to just dig into things and not worry too much about the other end,” he notes…Read featured article by Shelley L. Dennis, GDR Graduate Student Intern.
Drew at the AAR/SBL
Drew has much to celebrate at AAR this year! Kicking off the excitement, the November meeting of the American Academy of Religion marks the close of Otto Maduro’s term as president of the Academy. Among his presidential duties, Professor Maduro chose the theme of the annual meeting. While Dr. Maduro describes the theme as “little more than an informal magnet, not mandatory for program units,” he acknowledges that it “affirms the importance of a certain topic.” That topic—Migrants’ Religions Under Imperial Duress—reflects not only Otto’s area of passion, but also the vibrancy of activist scholarship at Drew…Read more about Drew at the AAR/SBL.
Charles McCollough: Drew Alum Publishes Eighth Book!
Since earning his PhD in theology in 1965 Charles McCollough has flourished as an artist and an author. This summer saw the publication of his eighth book, The Non-Violent Radical: Seeing and Living the Wisdom of Jesus. Sculpting in clay, bronze, wood, and stone, McCollough articulates a dense post-colonial understanding of the wisdom of Jesus’ sayings in the gospels in words and images…Read more about McCollough’s latest publication.
Mary Nyangweso Wangila: Living the Legacy of Drew Scholarship
After receiving her Ph.D. in Sociology of Religion at Drew University in 2004, Dr. Mary Nyangweso Wangila spent several years teaching in a variety of locations prior to receiving an endowed professorship at East Carolina University. As the J. Woolard and Hellen Peel Distinguished Professor in Religious Studies, Dr. Wangila continues to flex her intellectual muscles, examining the interplay between religious and other sociological forces upon issues related to women’s and human rights, such as female circumcision, domestic violence, and the effect of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa on women…Read more about Dr. Wangila.
In Memoriam: Adelaide Boadi
Drew mourns the loss and celebrates the life of Adelaide Ruth Afi Boadi, who died on September 11, 2012, after a seven month battle with cancer. Having overcome many prior adversities in pursuit of her PhD, Adelaide had hoped to graduate in May 2012; sadly, this was not to be. Adelaide was a woman of enormous gifts, fierce determination, great generosity, and boundless faith. Her vitality of spirit graced our community during her time with us and will continue to do so beyond her death…Read more about Adelaide Boadi.
Activist Priest Roy Bourgeois Visits Drew, Honors the Memory of Professor Isasi-Diaz
On September 11 and 12, in celebration of the work and legacy of Professor Ada-Maria Isasi-Diaz, Father Roy Bourgeois delivered a series of lectures on topics that were at the center of Dr. Isasi-Diaz’s concerns, research, writing, and teaching–“The Contemporary Struggle for Women’s Ordination in the Roman Catholic Church,” “Marielitos: Cuban Exiles in U.S. Prisons,” and “The School of the Americas: A U.S. Training Camp for Latin American Dictators and Torturers.” Audiences were deeply moved by the power of his prophetic voice and the witness of his fight for justice…Read more about Father Bourgeois’ visit to Drew.
Twelfth Transdisciplinary Theological Colloquium: Common Good(s): Economy, Ecology, Political Theology
Even as any sense of the “common” and its “good” has become questionable, so has hope of political solutions to the globalization of ecological crisis and economic injustice. What role does political theology—before and after its secularization—play in the formulation of the shared good and the sharing of goods? How does the much discussed ‘return of religion’ or ‘postsecularity’ reconfigure political theory and practice? What ideas are emerging out of recent transgressive and transformational local practices and assemblages? How might a transdisciplinary theological discourse support the fragile potentiality of a new ecopolitical planetarity—of “a world of becoming”?…Read more about the upcoming Twelfth TTC.
Alums Return to Drew to Talk about Their Teaching
On June 1 and 2, 2012, nine Drew graduates returned to campus for a Wabash Center-sponsored gathering—not a conference, not a workshop, but a chance to talk. The primary aim of the gathering was to discover what challenges graduates who hold teaching positions face, how well we are preparing them, and what we could do better. That aim was certainly met: the five participating Drew faculty members learned even more than we anticipated about our graduates’ teaching roles and contexts, many of which are very different from our own—undergraduate classrooms, heavy teaching loads, lack of institutional support for scholarship, complex institutional politics. (OK, not entirely different!)…Read featured article by Virginia Burrus, GDR Chair and Professor of Early Christianity.
2011-2012 Faculty Accomplishments
Each year Drew’s faculty continues its commitment to being intellectually and socially engaged through its publications, presentations, and lectures…Read more about these and other faculty accomplishments in the past year.