The series was originally established by the fifth Drew presisent Ezra Squier Tipple and his wife Edna White Tipple. Nowadays it is an annual Theological School conference and alumni/ae reunion that features many major scholars in its roster of speakers. Recent conference themes have included: “Greening the Church for the Next Millenium”; “The Bible: Weapon or Wisdom?”; “Christology across Confessions and Cultures”; and “God and Mammon.”
This center was established in Drew Theological School in 2006 with a grant from the Henry R. Luce Foundation, and as a resource for the Theological School, the Graduate Division of Religion, and the wider community. The Center studies and models the place of Christianity in a global society in modes that affirm the irreducible plurality of both historical and contemporary Christianities; the opening of Christian theologies and ministries to other faith traditions; the need to attend to the colonial legacies and neocolonial investments of Christianity; and the articulation of theological visions of social justice, peace, and non-violence in such interdependent domains as economics, the environment, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. The Center is directed by Dr. Elizabeth Tapia, formerly Professor of Missiology at the Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches in Geneva.
2009 Colloquium Site
Launched in 2001 under the leadership of Catherine Keller, Professor of Constructive Theology in the Theological School and Graduate Division of Religion, together with Virginia Burrus, Professor of Early Church History, and Stephen Moore, Professor of New Testament, the Drew Transdisciplinary Theological Colloquium brings a dozen or more distinguished scholars to campus each fall to engage in dialogue with Drew religion faculty and students around specific topics germane to the future of theological studies. The colloquia regularly issue in published volumes, and in certain years amount to full-scale conferences. Colloquia topics have included: “Interstitial Initiations/Counterdiscourses of Creation”; “(Com)promised Lands: The Colonial, the Postcolonial, and the Theological”; “An American Empire? Globalization, War, and Religion”; “Transfiguring Passions: Theologies and Theories of Eros”; “Ground for Hope: Faith, Justice, and the Earth”; “Apophatic Bodies: Infinity, Ethics, and Incarnation”; and “Planetary Loves: Postcoloniality, Gender, and Theology.” The colloquium traditionally ends with a one-day graduate student event at which students from Drew and other schools present papers to an audience of faculty and peers.
The Hispanic Institute of Theology at Drew University (HIT) was founded by Dr. Ada María Isasi-Díaz, and is currently co-directed by Dr. Isasi-Diaz and Dr. Otto Maduro. Dr. Isasi-Díaz teaches Christian Ethics in the Theological School and Graduate Division of Religion at Drew University and is one of the foremost Latina feminist theologians in the United States. She is widely known for her work in Mujerista Theology. Dr. Otto Maduro teaches World Christianity in the Theological School and Graduate Division of Religion, and is an internationally known sociologist of Religion.
Through the leadership of Drs. Isasi-Díaz and Maduro, HIT has been in connection with several of the important programs recently developed by Latinas/os in different parts of the country such as the Hispanic Theological Initiative, the Program for the Analysis of Religion Among Latinos, the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United State, and the Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana. HIT was also instrumental in establishing the Hispanic/Latino group at the American Academy of Religion, which at present organizes two sessions at the AAR Annual Conference. In 1995 HIT organized the first panel by Latina Theologians at the AAR.
This interdisciplinary center is funded by the Wallerstein family and
other donors, and is directed by Dr. J. Terry Todd, Associate Professor
of American Religious Studies. Its purpose is to
encourage and facilitate the broadest possible interdisciplinary study
of the profoundly complex nexus where religions, societies and cultures
meet. The Center brings together scholars
representing a remarkable diversity of academic disciplines, and from
all three of the constituent schools at Drew, to participate in
research and conversation about various aspects of the intersection of
religion with society and culture. The Center
hosts distinguished visiting scholars, sponsors lectures, makes
research grants to promote scholarship, and arranges roundtable
discussions. The programs of the Shirley Sugerman Interfaith Forum, a
distinct but
integral part of the Center, promote earnest and frank dialogue among
different religious traditions on issues of common concern.
Other Lecture Series
The Frederick A. Shippey Lecture
Established in honor of Professor Frederick A. Shippey to further scholarship in the sociology of religion.
The Halstead Lecture
Endowed by the late Dr. Frank Halstead, the lecture brings major scholars of religion in antiquity to Drew.
The Nelle K. Morton Lecture
Dedicated to Drew’s early feminist educator and theologian Nelle K. Morton, the lecture highlights women’s issues in society, theology, and religious communities.
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Lecture
Hosted by the Black Ministerial Caucus, the lecture addresses theological and ethical issues from the perspective of the African American experience.
The Hispanic/Latino/a Theology and Religion Lecture
The lecture is hosted by the Hispanic Institute of Theology
The Korean Theological Studies Lecture
The lecture is hosted by the Korean Caucus.
