Stories

Nick Nagy (Religious Studies/Political Science '19) published an article in the 2018 "peacemaking" issue of Bearings, an award-winning online magazine that supports innovation and reflection in 21st century ministry practice. Drawing on fieldwork he conducted during Winter break, Nick's article, "Peacemaking in the Middle," explored the local nuances of advocacy for justice and compassion for refugees, victims of gun violence, and adults suffering from dementia in what is often considered the vast political "flyover" territory of his home state of Indiana. "Out in the middle of America, a landscape written off by many Americans as hopelessly isolationist and dismally Trumpian, my neighbors were getting into the thick of the peacemaking enterprise through engagement, conversation, and action," Nick wrote.

Nick's work as an editorial assistant for Bearings and a Living Religions Collaborative Fellow is funded by The BTS Center, its publisher, where Elizabeth Drescher (Religious Studies) serves as a consulting scholar and editor of the magazine.

Synopsis of the article: 

Religious Studies and Political Science student and Religious Studies Department Student Assistant, Nick Nagy has written an article on peacemaking that was published in the Bearings blog, run by Dr. Drescher of the Religious Studies Department. His article is centered on the idea of the forgotten and misjudged Midwestern state of Indiana, and it discusses how people often mischaracterize Midwestern folks as isolationist and unwilling to change. He reflects on three separate experiences in Indianapolis including a panel titled “Common Decency and Refugees” held at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, a candle-light vigil held in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting, and his time spent volunteering with Alzheimer’s and Dementia-afflicted individuals at Joy’s House Adult Day Care. He uses these three events to display that peacemaking through social justice is very much alive in the Midwest, but it is often less visible than in the highly populated coastal areas. His article highlights the need for us to be willing to work with all kinds of people through many different avenues if we want to create a world free from injustice and achieve real, lasting peace.