| Submitted to Program Units |
|---|
| 1: Arts, Literature, and Religion Unit |
The panel “Violence, Nonviolence, and the Margin” examines the complex dynamics of power, resistance, and transformation within marginalized communities. Through diverse lenses of art, theology, documentary, and literature, the panelists explore how narratives of violence and nonviolence intersect at the margins of society, reshaping identities, reclaiming histories, and redefining theological and literary landscapes. The first paper examines the intersection of art and theology by juxtaposing Browder’s monument, “Mothers of Gynecology,” against Sims's monument. By analyzing Browder's work's aesthetic and activist dimensions, the paper highlights the power of art to challenge historical injustices and provoke theological reflection. In conversation with theological aesthetics and Kelly Brown Douglas’s Stand Your Ground, this paper will: 1) closely analyze the aesthetics of “Mothers of Gynecology” as a primary source for theological writing and 2) demonstrate how the monument created the space for ongoing activist engagement. Ultimately, the paper argues that Browder’s “Mothers of Gynecology” evinces the power of art to act as radical re-education and thus as a space of necessary theological reflection. This second paper discusses the emergence of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries Movement within the LGBTQ+ community, redefining the traditional Black church. Through the lens of a documentary filmmaker, the paper documents personal transformation and spiritual renewal and showcases how marginalized communities are reshaping religious landscapes on a global scale. This third paper reevaluates Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s novel The River Between and proposes him as an ethnographic writer through a fresh interpretation of his novelistic work. By examining the novel's historical and imaginative functions, the paper positions his work within broader discussions of religion, literature, and indigenous narratives, like Chinua Achebe and Mongo Beti.
Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)
The panel “Violence, Nonviolence, and the Margin” examines the complex dynamics of power, resistance, and transformation within marginalized communities. Through diverse lenses of art, theology, documentary, and literature, the panelists explore how narratives of violence and nonviolence intersect at the margins of society, reshaping identities, reclaiming histories, and redefining theological and literary landscapes. The first paper examines the intersection of art and theology by juxtaposing Browder’s monument, “Mothers of Gynecology,” against Sims's monument. By analyzing Browder's work's aesthetic and activist dimensions, the paper highlights the power of art to challenge historical injustices and provoke theological reflection. This second paper discusses the emergence of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries Movement within the LGBTQ+ community, redefining the traditional Black church. Through the lens of a documentary filmmaker, the paper documents personal transformation and spiritual renewal and showcases how marginalized communities are reshaping religious landscapes on a global scale. This third paper reevaluates Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s novel The River Between and proposes him as an ethnographic writer through a fresh interpretation of his novelistic work. By examining the novel's historical and imaginative functions, the paper positions his work within broader discussions of religion, literature, and indigenous narratives, like Chinua Achebe and Mongo Beti.