ALL THINGS ARE NEW: THE LANGUAGE OF OUR LIFE IN THE FACE OF EMPIRE

Brian Bantum, PhD
Neil F. And Ila A. Fisher Professor of Theology, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Tuesday, October 5, 2021
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Foss Center, Hoversten Chapel

It’s difficult to remember a time when there was order and expectation. Uncertainty and chaos feel like the norm. Problems seem too big to overcome, and words are too weak to point a way forward. How do we speak of God? How do we live in the face of chaos? As we begin a new season, let us reflect on a God who creates in the chaos and becomes flesh in the face of empire.

Brian Bantum, PhD, writes, speaks, and teaches on identity, racial imagination, creating spaces of justice,  and the intersection of theology and embodiment for audiences around the United States. He is a  contributing editor of The Christian Century and is the author of “Redeeming Mulatto: A Theology of Race and Christian Hybridity,” “The Death of Race: Building a New Christianity in a Racial  World,”  and  “Choosing Us: Marriage and Mutual Flourishing in a World of Difference,” which he co-authored with his spouse, Gail Song Bantum.

THEME – STORYTELLING: CONNECTING OUR STORIES

MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2022

Overall Schedule

Convocation Schedule

Overall Schedule

11 a.m.–12 p.m. Storytelling Hour

• Storytelling Workshop – Griot Joe Davis
  • Oren Gateway Center, Room 113
  • Workshop Title: “Writing can be a powerful tool to help process emotions, self express, and create the needed space to heal.”

Nationally touring poet, teaching artist, and community organizer Joe Davis will interweave writing and healing practices to invite participants to unapologetically speak their truth and claim their power. No need to identify as a writer or artist, all experience levels are welcomed as we collectively explore how to write ourselves into a new way of being and creatively catalyze the world we long to live in together.

• Storytelling Workshop – Griot Atlese Robinson ’19
  • Oren Gateway Center, Room 114
  • Workshop Title: “The Social Hour”

Atlese Robinson is a writer, performer, director, producer, and the founding artistic director of Ambiance Theatre Company. “The Social Hour” is a one-hour interactive theater workshop integrating basic yoga, breath work, movement, vocal warm ups, community building activities, and journaling for a connected, all-ages experience. Not a performer? No problem. This workshop makes room for participants’ pace and comfortability. You never know what hidden talents may emerge during the session.

• Storytelling Workshop – Griot Mary Taris ’04
  • Oren Gateway Center, Room 111
  • Workshop Title: “Storytelling in African American English”

Strive Publishing Founder Mary Taris will facilitate an exploration of African American English and the written word. This workshop will give context and validation to the use of African American English as an expression of culture, self-identity, and pride. Experience the joy of reading and writing stories and poetry that feel like home.

12–1 p.m. Lunch Break

• Soul Food menu items available: Christensen Center, Dining Commons

1–2:30 p.m. Convocation (Virtual)

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Convocation Schedule

1–1:05 p.m. Rolling Art Gallery

1:05–1:15 p.m. Convocation Welcome

• Welcome
  • Jasmine Epps-Flowers ’21, President of Augsburg Student Activities Council and Cameron Phillips ’21, Vice President of Augsburg Student Activities Council
• Invocation
  • University Pastor Babette Chatman ’06
• Remarks
  • University President Paul Pribbenow

1:15–1:30 p.m. Soloist and Choir Selections

• Soloist: Jelicia “Jelly” Bell
  • “Black National Anthem”
• Choir: Known (Director: Courtland Pickens)
  • “We Shall Overcome”
  • “Oh Freedom”

1:30–1:35 p.m. Dance Piece

• Step Piece: Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated (Director: Destyn Land ’19)

1:35–2:05 p.m. Keynote Address

• Introduction
  • Ilhan Ahmed ’22, President of Pan-Afrikan Student Union
• Keynote Speaker
  • Joe Davis
    • “More Than A Dream: A Call to Embody the Work of Justice”

2:05–2:10 p.m. Spoken Word Piece

• Spoken Word Artist
  • Mallory Ferguson ’20
    • “Precision”

2:10–2:20 p.m. Choir Selections

• Choir: Known (Director: Courtland Pickens)

2:20 p.m. Thank You and Sending Message

• Thank You
  • Joanne K. Reeck, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion
• Sending Message
  • Fardosa Hassan ’12, Muslin Student Program Associate

THE FUTURE IS ALIVE! PHYSICS LESSONS FROM BIOLOGY

Jennifer L. Ross
Professor and Physics Department Chair, Syracuse University

Technical Science Talk

Sverdrup Convocation

Tuesday, April 12, 2022
11:00 – 11:45 a.m.

Jennifer L. Ross is an award-winning biophysicist studying the organization of the microtubule cytoskeleton and microtubule-based enzymes using high-resolution single molecule imaging techniques. She won the Margaret Oakley-Dayhoff Award from the Biophysical Society, an INSPIRE Award from NSF, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. She has a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California Santa Barbara, and did postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. As a Cottrell Scholar, Ross has pioneered innovative teaching techniques in active learning that are being adopted around the world. Specifically, she has created a novel interdisciplinary optics course where students build their own microscopes. This course has been adapted and taught at several international short courses on microscopy including Analytical and Quantitative Microscopy (AQLM) at the Marine Biology Laboratory and the Bangalore Microscopy Course at the National Centre for Biological Science in Bangalore, India. Ross is also an advocate for women and under-represented groups in Physics, and she recently became the Physics Department Chair at Syracuse University.