Sister Rose Thering, a Dominican nun, spent her life combatting anti-Semitism and fostering better Jewish-Catholic relations. Her research influenced the writing of "Nostra Aetate," the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1965, which dismissed the charge that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. It also urged Christians and Muslims to work together for mutual understanding and social justice. The gift of Victor and Susan Temkin, the Thering Fellowship is designed to bring a leading figure in conversations among Jews, Christians, and Muslims to UW-Madison as a scholar-in-residence to both deliver a public lecture and to meet with small groups of students and other members of the greater Madison community.
LISAR Proundly Announces the First Annual Thering Fellow: Reza Aslan
Reza
Aslan
"Winning a Cosmic War: Can Common Ground be Found within the Abrahamic Religions?"
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
7:30pm
Elvehjem Auditorium, L160
800 University Avenue
Reza Aslan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Santa Clara University, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University, a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from the University of Iowa, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Sociology of Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
His first book, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam has been translated into half a dozen languages, was short-listed for the Guardian (UK) First Book Award, and nominated for a PEN USA award for research Non-Fiction. His next book, How to Win a Cosmic War: Why We're Losing the War on Terror, will be published by Random House in the Fall of 2008.
As part of the Thering Fellowship, Aslan will hold conversations with small groups of faculty, students, and members of the greater Madison community.
The Sister Rose Thering Fellowship is sponsored by a generous gift from Victor and Susan Temkin.