News
A Rich Fall Cultural Season
This year, Elmhurst College marks the graduation centennial of two of its most esteemed alumni: Reinhold Niebuhr (1910) and H. Richard Niebuhr (1912). The celebration will be kicked off with the Niebuhr Forum on Religion in Public Life, scheduled for October 1. The forum is only part of a yearlong series of lectures and forums dealing with religion and interfaith dialogue, “Still Speaking: Conversations on Faith.”
Religion isn’t the only topic on tap. Another centennial, the birth of former President Ronald Reagan, offers an opportunity for reflection by his biographer, Lou Cannon. The prolific author Elizabeth Berg will share the stories behind the stories. And sports columnist Frank DeFord will explore the hype and the hypocrisy in college sports.
THE INAUGURAL NIEBUHR FORUM ON RELIGION IN PUBLIC LIFE
"The Persistence of Evil: Reinhold Niebuhr’s Message for Today’s World"
Panel Discussion
A distinguished group of thinkers from four religious traditions discusses the enduring relevance of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Christian Realism in the anxious opening decades of the 21st century. The moderator, R. Gustav Niebuhr, is an associate professor of journalism and director of the Religion and Society Program at Syracuse University and a former religion columnist of The New York Times. He is the grandson of the theologian H. Richard Niebuhr, the sixth president of Elmhurst College and a member of the Class of 1912, and the great nephew of Reinhold Niebuhr, Class of 1910.
- The Reverend Dr. Alice W. Hunt, President and Professor of Theology,Chicago Theological Seminary
- Dr. Nancy Lee, Niebuhr Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics, Elmhurst College
- Dr. Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Core
- Rabbi Herman E. Schaalman, Congregation Emanuel, Chicago
Friday, October 1, 4:00 p.m.
The Frick Center, Founders Lounge
The Niebuhr Forum Keynote Address
"Politics and the Influence of Reinhold Niebuhr"
David Brooks
In the last century, Reinhold Niebuhr “was one of America's most profound writers,” says David Brooks. Today, Brooks himself is a keen observer of American life and a savvy analyst of politics and foreign affairs. He currently appears regularly in the opinion pages of The New York Times and on PBS and National Public Radio. Brooks believes our political and moral discourse could use the likes of Niebuhr again. “Our debates are small,” he notes. “Niebuhr's arguments were big.”
Friday, October 1, 7:30 p.m.
Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel
FALL LECTURES
How Ronald Reagan Changed History
Lou Cannon
In five books over four decades, the journalist Lou Cannon covered the California ascent and pivotal presidency of Ronald Wilson Reagan. In anticipation of the centennial of President Reagan’s birth, the man George F. Will called “Reagan’s best biographer” considers the dramatic and still contested legacy of an American original.
The Rudolf G. Schade Lecture Series
Friday, September 24, 7:00 p.m.
Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel
Sponsored in part by Harris Bank
The Stories Behind the Stories
Elizabeth Berg
“Elizabeth Berg's gift as a storyteller lies most profoundly in her ability to find the remarkable in the everyday,” says the Boston Globe. The Chicago Sun-Times compares her to Anne Tyler and Alice Hoffman. An erstwhile waitress and rock singer and a registered nurse for 10 years (“That was my school for writing”), she has written 21 novels and been translated into 26 languages.
The Roland Quest Lecture Series
Thursday, October 14, 7:00 p.m.
Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel
College Sports: The Hype and the Hypocrisy
Frank Deford
Frank Deford is a master journalist (Sports Illustrated), respected broadcaster (NPR), occasional teacher (Princeton University) and accomplished novelist (Everybody’s All-American). The magazine GQ calls him simply “the world’s greatest sportswriter.” He will offer a highly informed and unvarnished perspective on the wide world of intercollegiate athletics.
The Rudolf G. Schade Lecture Series
Sunday, November 7, 7:00 p.m.
Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel
Sponsored in part by Harris Bank
STILL SPEAKING: CONVERSATIONS ON FAITH
Special Appearances
A Spirit-Filled Movement for LGBT Equality
Harry Knox
Harry Knox is director of the Religion and Faith Program of the Human Rights Campaign. The program inspires and prepares people of faith to advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. A former pastor of a United Methodist Church in Georgia, Knox started the Clergy Call for Justice and Equality, a national conference that has become an influence on public policy at the federal level. In 2009, President Obama appointed Knox to the Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
The LGBT Guestship
Wednesday, October 13, 4:00 p.m.
Schaible Science Center, Illinois Hall
Join Mr. Knox for a conversation at 7:00 p.m. in the Frick Center, Founders Lounge
Dangerous Religious Ideas
Rachel S. Mikva
Rachel Mikva is the Rabbi Herman E. Schaalman Professor of Jewish Studies at Chicago Theological Seminary. She previously served for 13 years as a congregational rabbi. In her teaching and research, Dr. Mikva explores how the ideas in the Hebrew Bible reflect and shape the societies in which they unfold. “It is the ongoing search for meaning that makes for a holy text,” she says. “We search together in community and help each other reach toward the Divine call.”
The Abraham Joshua Heschel Lecture
Wednesday, October 27, 7:30 p.m.
The Frick Center, Founders Lounge
God Is Still Speaking: A Conversation on Faith
The Reverend Geoffrey Black
Geoffrey Black is general minister and president of the United Church of Christ. Elected in 2009, he previously served the church as a pastor, teacher and university chaplain. “The phrase ‘servant leadership’ encapsulates his understanding and practice of leadership,” says the Reverend Jim Moos, a North Dakota pastor and chair of the UCC’s executive council. “He does not believe that leadership is the exclusive purview of a single person, but the shared responsibility of the many.” Elmhurst College is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
Special Appearance
Thursday, December 9, 7:00 p.m.
Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel
CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE
“Immigrant Nation! The Battle for the Dream”
A Film by Esau Melendez
Esau Melendez will screen and discuss his documentary about the fight for rights for immigrant people in the United States. Immigrant Nation! centers around the story of Elvira Arellano, a single mother from Chicago who fought her deportation. The film interweaves portraits of community activists and organizations who have joined the struggle for comprehensive immigration reform.
The Cesar Chavez Guestship
Monday, October 4, 4:00 p.m.
Schaible Science Center, Illinois Hall
Gabriel Villa: Oppressed By Figures of Beauty
Gabriel Villa’s paintings and drawings express a strong social consciousness and concern for persons marginalized for economic or racial reasons or both. His highly psychological work is a powerful combination of figurative imagery and the signs and symbols of personal memory. The Pilsen community on Chicago’s West Side, Villa's home for the past decade, has had a powerful impact on his art.
Art Exhibit
Monday, September 13–Friday, October 15
Frick Center, Founders Lounge
Public Reception
Tuesday, September 21, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Artist’s talk at 5:00 p.m.
The Frick Center, Founders Lounge
AT THE MILL THEATRE
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Directed by Janice Pohl
This chilling and suspenseful operatic musical tells the infamous tale of an unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th century London seeking revenge. A horrific and bloody tale, Sweeney Todd nevertheless has a wicked bit of fun, mixing intense drama with moments of dark humor.
Thursday–Saturday, September 30–October 2, 8:00 p.m.
Thursday–Saturday, October 7–9, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 10, 2:00 p.m.
Stage Door
By Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman; Directed by Tony Noice
This play from the 1930s explores a host of hopes and dreams for a life in the theatre. The title and some of the material will be recognizable to those familiar with the RKO movie of the same name. Enjoy the original, where the stage truly was the thing.
Thursday–Saturday, November 11–13, 8:00 p.m.
Thursday–Saturday, November 18–20, 8:00 p.m.
For the complete 2010–2011 season at the Mill Theatre, go to www.elmhurst.edu/ectheatre
