Latest From RELS Faculty
Dr. Donald Gray
On December 3, the RELS Department celebrated the 54 years of service to Manhattan College of our colleague Donald Gray.
Dr. Gray completed his MA at Notre Dame and his PhD at Fordham.
Dr. Gray's scholarship focused on contemporary Christian systematic theology with a special focus on current developments in christology. Also, the still developing interdisciplinary field of death studies (thanatology) with special attention to the religious and ethical dimensions of the field.
Dr. Gray's books included Jesus: The Way to Freedom and Finding God Among Us.
Dr. Gray published articles in a variety journals such as Theological Studies, Horizons, Cross Currents, Anima, PACE, Journal of Dharma, Worship, The Living Light, and Chicago Studies.
He also edited the series Teilhard Studies over a ten-year period.
Dr. Claudia Setzer
Currently on sabbatical.
Teaching a new Religious Studies course in the Fall called: "In the Footsteps of the Early Jews and Christians". The course will meet online 5 times during the Fall semester and end with 2 weeks in Rome. - Study Abroad Opportunity
Dr. David Shefferman
Following time in Madrid (teaching the RELS course “Religion and Spanish Identity” in the Manhattan-in-Madrid summer program) and in southeastern Spain (research on popular festivals and Spanish identity), I chaired and participated in a panel on “Contact Zones” at the 2016 International Academic Forum Conference on Global Studies in Barcelona this past July. My talk was titled “Corpus Christi in the Corpus Politicum: Toledo’s Catholic Spectacle at the Global Crossroads.
My participation in the Barcelona conference also supported my work as Director of MC’s International Studies Program since I was able to meet and share ideas and experiences with faculty and administrators from similar programs around the world.
I also presented the paper “To Chronicle Marvelous Realities: Fiction and Afro-Cuban Hybridities in Mayra Montero’s The Messenger” as part of a session on Religion in the Americas at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion.
In November, my Arches section of RELS 110: (1) assisted a local church with a “midnight run” to provide clothes and food to some homeless New Yorkers; (2) attended a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Image from Fiddler (left).
Dr. Robert Geraci
Dr. Geraci received a research grant from the American Academy of Religion that supported travel to Bangalore, India this October. The purpose of the visit was to observe the festival of Ayudha Puja, which translates to "worship of the machines" or "rite of the implements." It's a festival in which machines are honored for the ways in which they enable human transcendence, though for many participants it's simply a nice community gathering. Dr. Geraci participated in Ayudha Puja at the Indian Institute of Science, the same elite scientific institution where he worked for five months in 2012-13. Data from this research trip will be incorporated into his forthcoming book and an essay that he is co-authoring with Dr. Renny Thomas, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Jesus & Mary College in New Delhi.
Picture (left): Cleaning equipment at an altar set up for the festival. The equipment has been marked with sandalwood paste and vermilion powder, and has had ghee (clarified butter) sprinkled on it as part of the ritual.
Picture (left): A cutting saw in the Physics Department. The saw has been marked with sandalwood paste and vermilion powder and has mango leaves and a flower. The knitted fish sitting on the saw table is Dr. Geraci's Travel Fish, Laisett, which goes with him on adventures all over the world.
Dr. Kevin Ahern
Recent Presentations:
October 15th: I presented on “The Future of Public Theology” at the Boston College Conference: Public Theology and the Global Common Good
November 6th: "Being Church in a Divided World: The Legacy of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin for the 21st Century” Kevin Ahern, Ph.D. on November 6th at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago
November 14th: Being Catholic in a World of Suffering and Injustice. 50th Anniversary Lecture at Saint Eulalia’s Parish in Arlington/Winchester MA
BIGGER News:
In November, I was elected as the international president of a a global organization at a meeting in Barcelona. Press release here:
- RIVERDALE, N.Y., November 11, 2016 – In November, Kevin Ahern, Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies at Manhattan College, was elected president of the International Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs (ICMICA-Pax Romana), a global network of Catholic intellectuals and professionals that includes members from more than 50 countries. He is the first American to hold this position.
Prior to his election, Ahern had been Vice President of ICMICA-Pax Romana. From 2003 to 2007, he also served as the President of the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS-Pax Romana), an international network of students in more than 80 countries. He also serves on the boards of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative and America Media.
Since 1946, ICMICA-Pax Romana has served as a global movement of lay Catholic intellectuals and professionals from more than 50 countries. Headquartered in Geneva Switzerland, ICMICA-Pax Romana brings together Catholic professionals and intellectuals, as individuals and groups, who are working to establish dialogue between faith and culture, evangelization and the inculturation of the Gospel in the world of labor, the family and society.
NEW BOOK OUT
https://www.amazon.com/Public-Theology-Global-Common-Good/dp/1626982023
Events Cosponsored by the Department
10/22/16: *Pax Christi New York Regional Assembly: The Future of the Peace Movement Peace Studies hosted the Pax Christi Metro New York Regional Assembly. In the afternoon, the assembly was opened to Manhattan College students for a lecture by Dr. Kevin Ahern on the Future of the Peace Movement. (68 participants)
11/16/16: Dorothy Day Lecture. Kathleen and Patrick Jordan shared their experiences and memories of working with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement. Co-sponsored by Campus Ministry and Social Action and Religious Studies. (115 participants).
Dr. Philip Francis
Book coming out in February 2017 with Oxford University Press: When Art Disrupts Religion: Aesthetic Experience and the Evangelical Mind.
Teaching a new course this Fall: Religion and the Arts in NYC. The course has included 10 field trips...to museums, galleries, places of worship, and memorials.
Running the Maine Coast Study Away "Good Life" Program in Spring 2017.
Presented a paper at the American Academy of Religion in November entitled: "Sexual Practices of Religious Uncertainty".