St. Benedict, how to save the world, the hookup culture, human trafficking themes of Sr. Maura Campbell lectures

Caldwell, N.J., Aug. 21, 2018 – The Theology and Philosophy Department at Caldwell University has announced its fall lectures for the Sister Maura Campbell series.

“How to Save the World: A Global League of Democracies” will be the theme of a presentation 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Sept. 20. John Davenport, Ph.D., professor of philosophy at Fordham University, will give the talk.  In his forthcoming book, “A League of Democracies” (Routledge, 2018), he argues that UN Security Council must be replaced with a new security organization founded by the world’s democratic nations that can protect against terrorism, weapons proliferation and new arms races, prevent mass atrocities that destabilize whole regions and resist rising threats from dictatorships such as Russia and China, which he contends aim to divide and destroy democratic societies.

“Who Is This Dude Called Benedict?” will be presented by journalist and author Judith Valente 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4.  Valente will share how “The Rule” and its emphasis on listening “with the ear of the heart,” simplicity, community, balance, prayer and praise changed her from a hard-charging workaholic into an “everyday contemplative” and how the timeless wisdom of St. Benedict offers a way forward from the divisions sweeping our country.  The “Rule of St. Benedict,” originally written for people in monasteries, is still one of the best guides for discovering what truly matters in life, contends Valente.

“Faith with Benefits: Hooking Up, Hanging Out, and Finding Relationships on Catholic Campuses” will be the theme of a talk at 4:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 5. Jason King, professor of theology at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, will share how he investigates the effects of Catholic identity on the hookup culture. Dr. King has authored the book “Faith with Benefits:  Hookup Culture on Catholic Campuses”(Oxford University Press, 2017), is editor of the Journal of Moral Theologyand writes for the blog CatholicMoralTheology.com. He is working on an edited collection of essays titled “Love, Sex, and Families: Catholic Perspectives”(Liturgical Press) and a book project about the environment, children and Mr. Rogers.

Human trafficking will be the topic of a presentation and discussion, 4:30 p.m.,Thursday, Nov. 15. The forum will focus on the lack of awareness of the prevalence of trafficking of young children and adults into a sex trade and how that is an obstacle in combating the growing sex trade of the vulnerable and naïve. The Sub-committee on Human Trafficking of the Caldwell Dominican Sisters Commission on Global Issues will facilitate the presentation.

The lectures will be held in the Alumni Theatre on campus. For further information, call 973-618-3931.

The lecture series is named after Sister Maura Campbell, O.P., a Sister of St. Dominic of Caldwell. She was a theologian, philosopher, professor, researcher and national leader in education whose scholarship and teaching spanned 50 years.