August 26, 2011
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Frederick Douglass’ speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” came back to life at Chautauqua on Thursday as actor Roger Guenveur Smith recited the abolitionist’s words for the Interfaith Lecture Series.
“What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim,” Smith said, reciting the speech.
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August 25, 2011
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A common misconception is that after former President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, everything became suddenly easier for slaves. But 10 actor-interpreters from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation disproved that theory in the performance “Promises of Freedom” at the Interfaith lecture at 2 p.m. in the Hall of Philosophy Wednesday.
Many slaves were skeptical of the legitimacy of Lincoln’s offer. They had been promised freedom before and had it taken away. Other slaves were left without families because their children and spouses had been sold. For some slaves, the Emancipation Proclamation did not even apply to them.
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August 24, 2011
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The first Chautauquans arrived for Tuesday’s 2 p.m. Interfaith Lecture almost two hours early, said Maureen Rovegno. By 1:30 p.m., the seats were packed for “Storm on the Horizon,” a character-interpretation by members of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Rovegno, the assistant director of the Department of Religion, did not seem surprised by the large turnout, though. When other members of the Foundation performed at Chautauqua in 2009, the event was just as popular.
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August 23, 2011
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To prepare the audience for this week’s Interfaith Lecture Series on the Civil War and human rights, Michael Klarman cleared some misconceptions, laid the groundwork for the week and rooted people’s minds in constitutional history.
During Monday’s lecture, the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, director of the Department of Religion, introduced the multi-degree-holding Harvard law professor to an audience that had just been warned against saving seats in the packed Hall of Philosophy.
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August 21, 2011
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Unions, fair trade, corporate charities and the welfare state might not sound like typical biblical parable fare. But Amy-Jill Levine insisted in her lecture at 2 p.m. Friday in the Hall of Philosophy that the afternoon’s parable examined these relevant modern economic aspects.
In “Management and Non-Union Workers,” Levine’s last lecture of Week Eight, she examined the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, found in Matthew 20:1-16. Levine is a professor of New Testament and Jewish studies at Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School.
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August 19, 2011
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“Today, we’re going to talk about the widow and the judge. I have no clue what this thing means,” Amy-Jill Levine said. “The more I look at this, the more disturbed I get. The good news there is that if I’m disturbed by a parable, at least the parable is working.”
Levine, professor of New Testament and Jewish studies at Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School, returned to the Hall of Philosophy lectern at 2 p.m. Thursday to discuss the parable of the wily widow and the unjust judge. “Wiley Widow and Unjust Judge” was the fourth in the Week Eight lecture series theme, “Human Creativity, The Spark of the Divine.”
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August 18, 2011
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“I should admit right up front: I don’t like this kid,” Amy-Jill Levine said.
The kid in question was the prodigal son of Jesus’ parable.
Levine, a New Testament and Jewish studies professor at Vanderbilt University, continued her weeklong study of Jesus’ parables at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Hall of Philosophy. In Wednesday’s lecture, “The Provocation of the Prodigal,” Levine examined the parable of the prodigal son. The parable comes from Luke 15:11-32.
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August 17, 2011
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Jewish and New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine returned to the Hall of Philosophy lectern Tuesday with “Dangers on the Road to Jericho” to focus on the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Like all parables, the Good Samaritan is subject to interpretation, Levine said.
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August 16, 2011
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Survive Week Eight in three easy steps: avoid allegory, listen for humor and exaggeration and find a message to look at the world in a new way.
These are tips Amy-Jill Levine gave the Hall of Philosophy audience at 2 p.m. Monday during her lecture, “Hearing the Parables: Pearls, Pharisees, Publicans and Pounds.”
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August 14, 2011
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John Dominic Crossan addressed “Finale: Violence and Nonviolence,” and Joerg Rieger discussed “Economics and Resistance: Reshaping Desire from the Bottom Up” for Friday’s joint presentation in the Hall of Philosophy, concluding their Week Seven examination of “The Heart and Soul of Money.”
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Greenhouse to take audience on her journey out of Christian Science
Gergen: Millennials should learn from the World War II generation
Hoffman fights for women’s rights inside secular Judaism, at Western Wall
President Roosevelt: ‘I Have Seen War. I Hate War.’
Dybul: Eliminate preventable diseases for ‘a more perfect world’
Fish: Value of arts, humanities found in pleasure we take in them
No power? No problem.
Through his photography, Reza ‘shakes the hearts of people’
Writers’ Center workshops help Chautauquan get published
BTG seeks historical input for 100th anniversary in 2013
138th assembly draws to close with Becker’s Sunday address
Hillcrest Concert Band brings worldly program to Amp
Holbert to preach on season’s final Sunday
Chautauqua Institution is a community on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York state that comes alive each summer with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities. Over the course of nine weeks, more than 170,000 visitors will participate in programs, classes and community events for all ages—all within the beautiful setting of a historic lakeside village. Learn more →
