This session brings mimetic theory into dialogue with theology, pedagogy, and contemporary theories of identity to explore how desire shapes personal and communal formation. The first paper presents a pedagogical framework for teaching the lives of the saints in Catholic religious education, emphasizing the saints’ conversion of desire as a model for adolescent development. Drawing on Girard’s theory of mimetic desire, positive mimesis, and affective conversion, it proposes ways educators can invite students to critically reflect on their own desires through figures like St. Ignatius of Loyola. The second paper engages queer and crip theologies alongside mimetic theory to critique the limits of rigid identity categories. While queer and crip perspectives challenge binaries, mimetic theory reveals how such categories can still participate in cycles of exclusion and violence. Together, these papers explore alternative models of identity grounded not in rivalry or social comparison, but in openness to divine and transformative desire.
In-person November Annual Meeting 2025 Program Book
All time are listed in Eastern Time Zone.
The devil, the figure styled by John Calvin as “God’s enemy and ours,” is ubiquitous in the witness of the New Testament, but contemporary Christian doctrine generally remains dumbfounded about what to do with him. At the same time, modern impulses have yielded a resurgence in the language of the “demonic”—that is, pervasive, pernicious, personified evil. In light of this perplexity, Philip G. Ziegler raises and seeks to answer a pointed question in his book God's Adversary and Ours: Can the gospel actually be heard and understood without meaningful reference to this inimical entity?
This panel will discuss Ziegler's cautious but determined biblical-theological exploration of the identity, ontology, and agency of the devil.
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You're invited to our annual Connecting Conversations Luncheon! The PWD Committee is thrilled to host this special event, a cherished tradition that has always provided a valuable space for our members with disabilities and their allies in the Academy to connect and build community.
This year, we're making a small change to the format. Instead of a paid meal, we'll be hosting a Bring Your Own Lunch (BYOL) event. Whether you bring your own lunch or not, please join us! We believe the most important part of this gathering is the conversation and connection.
If you have any questions, please contact the PWD chair, Nick Shrubsole, at Nicholas.Shrubsole@ucf.edu.
The Society for the Study of Chinese Religions is hosting an annual Roundtable of Emerging Voices in the Study of Chinese Religions at the American Academy of Religions. Participants are Ph.D. students or early career scholars in Chinese Religions who will present their current research.
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Join us for a discussion on 'In God's Presence: A Theological Reintroduction to Judaism' by Alon Goshen-Gottstein. A fireside chat featuring two theologians – Jon Levenson of Harvard University (Jewish) and David Ford of Cambridge University (Christian) will consider how this novel theological reading of Judaism's history and spirituality can shed new light and inspire mutual understanding for Jews and Christians. Goshen-Gottstein’s book, the fruit of a lifetime of study and spiritual practice, offers a framework for understanding Judaism for both the insider and the outsider. Painting a composite picture of Judaism from its beginnings until today, Goshen-Gottstein draws on history, literature, theology, spirituality, and practiced religious life to craft an overview in which these different parts are appreciated as pieces of a larger whole.
HUC Pines School of Graduate Studies Alumni Luncheon: All Alumni, Faculty and current students of the HUC PSGS are invited to attend this luncheon.
This mealtime gathering offers a much-needed space of connection, renewal, and mutual support for those who identify as BIPOC faculty. Join a community that understands the unique challenges and joys of navigating academia. Hear about Wabash Center grants specifically allocated for BIPOC peer mentoring and engage in a rich conversation about self-care and wellness as essential to the teaching life. Being healthy, getting healthy, and staying healthy are critical to thriving in the classroom, within institutions, and throughout your academic career. Gather with a network that affirms life-giving teaching and faculty formation—a space where your presence, experiences, and well-being matter.
Please register by November 1, 2025, directly on our website or at this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeb3oDM9TAdiHFE3dbkT8N6mTWr_pO…