Spring 2023 Perspectives Faculty Updates
David DeCosse
"After 70 Years, William Everson's "Canticle to the Waterbirds" Still Sings," an article by David E. DeCosse with art by Sarah Fuller, was included in The National Catholic Reporter, November 29, 2022. The essay and art are a meditation on Everson's classic poem about waterbirds, the California coast, and the divine presence. DeCosse also situated the poem in light of concerns articulated by Pope Francis in Laudato si.
Eugene Schlesinger
Gene Schlesinger's article "Opus Dei, Opus Hominum: The Trinity, the Four-Point Hypothesis, and the Eucharist" was published in the Irish Theological Quarterly. This is the second of three exploratory articles that he wrote to work through some of the conceptualities he’s utilizing in his in-progress monograph, Ruptured Bodies: A Theology of the Church Divided. In addition, his article "Semper Purificanda: Accounting for Ecclesial Deformity with Bernard Lonergan" has been published in Ecclesiology 19, no. 1 (2023): 7-29.
Thien-Huong Ninh
Thien-Huong Ninh, as part of the core team of the Initiative for the Study of Asian Catholics, took part in the online conference in May, "More Universal Than Catholicism? Mary Among Asian Religions."
Roberto Mata
Roberto Mata received a Bannan Mission Integration Grant from the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, for his project developing a new course, "The Bible and Migration." Also, he was invited to join the steering committee of the John’s Apocalypse and Cultural Contexts Ancient and Modern section of the SBL.
Margaret McLean
Margaret McLean was interviewed for an article by Yahoo News about a bill in Massachusetts that would allow prisoners to receive reduced sentences in exchange for donating an organ or bone marrow. Be sure to read to the end so you can see that Margaret gets the last word!
In addition, McLean's article "Preparing Ahead Wisely and Ethically to Stave Off Crisis Standards of Care" has won second place in the 2023 Catholic Press Awards for Best Coverage – Pandemic. The article was published in "Health Progress" in Spring 2022 and was a product of her last sabbatical. The Catholic Media Association honors outstanding work in Catholic media through its annual awards programs. As a global network of Catholic communicators, the CMA recognizes the diversity of media available today and facilitates a wide variety of honors programs for its members and those in related fields. Awards were presented at the Catholic Media Conference, June 6-9, 2023, in Baltimore.
Daniel Morgan
Daniel Morgan received a grant from the Faculty Student Research Assistant Program (FSRAP). In addition, he presented a paper (virtually) at the 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo. The paper is titled “Ahy Arabic Works (and Persian Doesn’t): Towards an Occult Linguistics in Eighteenth-Century India” and was part of a panel titled “Ritual Tech: Alphanumeric Prayer between Religion and Science.”
Haruka Umetsu Cho
Haruka Umetsu Cho was one of three panelists and Yale Divinity School alums presenting the Bartlett lecture at Yale Divinity School in March. The event, titled “Understanding the Divine from an East Asian Perspective,” was part of the YDS Bicentennial observance taking place this year showcasing three exceptional scholars who are shaping debates on Chinese and Japanese Christianity in new ways at the intersection of theology, philosophy, literature, history, and ethics.
Haruka also coordinated with the SCU Center for Arts and Humanities to sponsor an event on February 23 with Brad Onishi on his recently published book, Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism.
Jaime Wright
Jaime Wright was awarded a Professional Development Grant for his research project “Finding a Common Language: Chaplains, Intensive Care, and Ethical Decision Making” which examines the personal understandings of self among doctors and chaplains that influence their ethical approaches to medical emergencies and end-of-life decisions when religion is a factor. The grant provides resources to complete the interview transcription process and coding of interview data. He is working with Student Research Fellow Hydeia Wysinger (Double Major: Psychology and Public Health; Double Minor: Religious Studies and Political Science, class of 2025).
Elizabeth Drescher/Jaime Wright
Elizabeth Drescher and Jaime Wright presented an overview of their Finding God in Googleville project and associated GIS map with members of Sacred Heart Community Services on Wednesday, March 15. The aim of the presentation was to explore collaborations with SHCS on both the academic research and GIS mapping development for the project and on student research in their Mapping Living Religion (RSOC 175) course. The SHCS team enthusiastically embraced engagement in both streams of the project, providing invaluable input to enrich the LRC Encounter Geomap so that it is more useful for SHCS's outreach. organizing, and advocacy efforts. The staff was also deeply interested in information Elizabeth and Jaime briefly shared about Boo Riley's recent publication on the health impacts of homeless camp abatements on unhoused people and on Bryson White's work on prison abolition, which dovetails with SHCS's work on decriminalizing homelessness and related concerns. Planned next steps include developing project plans for RSOC 175 and involving SHCS staff in data layer additions to Encounter.
Diana Gibson
Diana Gibson successfully completed the ACUE Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning Microcredential. This involved completing modules on Managing Bias, Reducing Microaggressions, Addressing Imposter Phenomenon, Creating Inclusive Learning Environments, and Designing Equity-Centered Courses.
Pearl Barros
Pearl Barros’ article was just published in English, “Racism and Trauma: Borderlands, Ambivalent Healing, and Hope,” in Concilium: International Journal for Theology, Racism: Women’s Intercultural Perspectives, eds., Sharon A. Bong, Bernardeth Caero Bustillos and Susan Abraham, (2023/1), 97-105.
Elizabeth Drescher
Elizabeth Drescher was awarded a Center for Arts and Humanities (CAH) Fellowship for Seeing Spirits of Silicon Valley in Place: Mural Art as Memory, Identity, Resistance, Solidarity, and Transformation in San Jose, CA." The project is a study of murals in San José "as resources for resistance, solidarity, and transformation in the face of corporate- and government-sponsored remaking of neighborhoods according to a social aesthetic of placelessness."