'Unflinching pacifist' Hauerwas to speak

The religious studies program in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies is bringing professor Stanley Hauerwas of Duke Divinity School to campus Thursday and Friday, Feb.17 and 18, as the 2005 Hammond Lecturer in Religious Ethics in Society.

Hauerwas will deliver his keynote address entitled "Sacrificing the Sacrifices of War" at 7p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, in Torgersen 2150. From 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 18, he will discuss his recent paper, "The Case for the Abolition of War in the 21st Century" in Lane Hall 132. Both events are free and open to the public.

"Hauerwas is arguably the leading academic theologian working in the U.S. today," said Brian Britt, director of the Religious Studies Program at Virginia Tech. Hauerwas is frequently referred to as an "unflinching pacifist."

Hauerwas has authored dozens of books, was named "America's Best Theologian" by Time magazine in 2001, and has even made his work highly accessible to the public by appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show to discuss his unflinching pacifist commitments in light of America's "war on terror."

Hauerwas is the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at the Divinity School of Duke University, where he holds a joint appointment in the Law School. Prior to coming to Duke, Hauerwas served on the faculty at the University of Notre Dame for 14 years (1970-1984). He writes broadly on matters of Christian social ethics, systematic and philosophical theology, and political theory, though is perhaps best known for his unswerving advocacy of Christian pacifism as well as his staunch critique of liberal individualism and popular forms of American Christianity. His most well-known books include A Community of Character (1981), The Peaceable Kingdom (1983), and Resident Aliens (1989, with Will Willimon). In 2001, Hauerwas delivered the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland (later published as With the Grain of the Universe). Since 9/11, Hauerwas has been in especially high demand to give interviews, deliver public lectures, or make guest appearances, perhaps because of his outspoken criticism of America's "war on terrorism."

For more information: http://www.idst.vt.edu/rel/RSPwebpage/Hammond.html.

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