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Deepak Sarma, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Case Western Reserve University |
| Friday January 27, 2012 12:30-1:30 p.m. Dampeer Room Kelvin Smith Library Case Western Reserve University Dear Colleagues: What are non-Christians to do when the December season means being bombarded with Christian creedal cheer? Is one obligated to “Have a Merry Christmas” or “Enjoy the Holidays” or at least spend a lot of money on gifts, even though one is a member of another, non-Christian, tradition, a tradition that neither celebrates the birth of Christ nor, in some cases, even has significant “Holy Days” in December? And does one have any other choice but to acquiesce to the pressure to conform given that one’s supposedly secular work world and secular civil society has, for all intents and purposes, has organized its calendar by it? Professor Sarma will initiate conversation about these and related matters concerning the complexities of being non-Christian in a society’s whose public life is dominated by Christianity. Very best regards, *New Information: How to Park and Avoid Winter Weather. See Parking section below. About Our Guest… Professor Sarma received his BA in Religious Studies from Reed College in 1991 and then attended the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. After spending several years in India doing research for his doctoral thesis, Sarma graduated with a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religions in 1998. Sarma taught in a number of places before joining Case in 2004. Sarma has published two books on the Madhva School of Indian Philosophy (An Introduction to Madhva Vedanta, and Epistemologies and the Limitations of Philosophical Inquiry: Doctrine in Madhva Vedanta) as well as a reader in Hinduism (Hinduism: A Reader). In addition he continues to publish articles on method and theory in the study of religion, Hinduism, and Indian Philosophy. Sarma’s Reader in Indian Philosophy is currently in process with Columbia University Press. Where We Meet The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convene each Friday when classes are in session in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The Dampeer Room is on the second floor of the library. If you get off the elevators, turn right, pass the first bank of tables, and turn right again. Occasionally we need to use a different room; that will always be announced in the weekly e-mails. Parking Possibilities The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library. Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers: February 3: Taxing Fracking: If Ohio Will Have a New Energy Boom, Shouldn’t It Have New Energy Taxes? Wendy Patton, Senior Project Director, Policy Matters Ohio February 10: Can We Legislate Ourselves Thinner? Jessica Berg, Professor of Law and Biomedical Ethics February 17: Is Childhood Obesity a New Form of Child Abuse? David Crampton, Associate Professor, Mandel School of Applied Social Science Februayr 24: Telling the Players Without a Scorecard: China’s Leadership Transition. Paul Schroeder, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science March 2: Does the Fire Department Have a Hose? The IMF and World Bank in the Financial Crisis. Kathryn C. Lavelle, Ellen and Dixon Long Associate Professor of Political Science March 9: Germany and the European Union. Ken Ledford, Associate Professor of History March 16: Spring Break – No Discussion March 23: TBA March 30: Just Do It or Just Say No? The Politics of Sex Education. Mark Carl Rom, Associate Professor of Government and Public Policy, Georgetown University April 6: TBA April 13: Russia’s Presidential Election. Andrew Barnes, Associate Professor of Political Science, Kent State University April 20: TBA April 27: TBA |
