Interdisciplinary Studies Conference, January 20-21, 2010
Each semester, King's offers a conference on campus that is intended to envoke a theme for the semester; to help us to think of bigger picture ideas in the midst of our studies and work. IS conferences bring faculty and students together around common topics of relevance to scholarship and public life. Previous IS Conference topics have included residential schools, global food issues, just peacemaking, sex, worship and justice, AIDS, and more. Speakers have included Chief Bobby Joseph, Senator Douglas Roche, South African playwright Peter Krummeck, eco-theologian Steven Bouma-Prediger, and historian Lauren Winner.
Who Should Attend The Conference?
Everyone who wants to be illuminated, exhilarated, emancipated, elucidated, inspired, wisened, treated royally …..
….And everyone else who wishes to graduate, because in order to graduate from King’s you need 3 credits of I.S. and you can earn these by simply attending conferences.
If you are a full-time student (not in the B.Ed. after-degree program) taking three or more courses, you must attend and should already be registered for the I.S. conference.
What Do I Need to Do
1. Register by showing up at the registration table in the cafeteria Tuesday of the conference and by the Gym Wednesday morning. Get signed in and pick up your registration packet which contains information that you will need.
2. Invite your friends or coworkers to join us at the conference.
3. Attend the two-day Conference.
4. King's students need to complete the assignments described in your registration packet.
This semester's topic:
Home (not so) Sweet Homeless
Today, we are confronted with many daunting statistics related to our idea of home. In Edmonton there are over 3000 homeless individuals living on the streets, a number projected to double within the next ten years. Each day within Canada there are up to 300,000 people without a permanent place to stay. Globally, that number expands to over 40 million refugees and displaced persons left vulnerable due to warfare and internal conflicts. Furthermore, the earth, the only home we have ever known, is being exploited and polluted at a greater rate than ever experienced before.
Yet, what is home? What is the significance of home in our own lives? What does it mean to be homeless? What are we separated, displaced or dislocated from?
Brian Walsh, Chris Turner and Jim Gurnett and a host of other presenters will lead us as we explore questions such as these as well as the various forms of homelessness – socioeconomic, ecological, and psycho-spiritual – creatively discovering how biblical attentiveness and the Christian faith can heal the profound dislocations in our society and within our own lives.
What have we talked about in the past?
2009
Fall Term 2009
Think about IT—identity and technology are inextricably linked in today’s society. Whether we view technology as a necessary evil or integral part of our everyday existence, we are defined both individually and as a culture by the technology we use.
The fall IS conference focused on the theme of “Identity & Technology,” and will challenge us to ask how we define technology and what we should do about it. Of course “technology” includes things like Twitter, facebook, and text messages, but it also refers to a complex system and patterns of behavior with deep sociological and spiritual implications.
Through lectures and discussion, we will be reminded of our essential identity as human beings made in God’s image and explore what our relationship to technology says about that identity.
Winter Term 2009
Prime Minister Stephen Harper hasissued an apology to Aboriginal communities expressing sorrow for the ill treatment suffered by many children in Indian Residential Schools. The painful legacy of those schools continues to be manifest in many ways. But the force of healing is also manifest in powerful ways as communities take action to change the trajectory of a painful history to a future of hope. The journey from Truth to Reconciliation is not traveled by "others", of whom we are mere observers - we must all travel that journey together. The Winter I.S Conference at The King's University College is still an invitation to be part of that journey. This conference was co- sponsored by the Aboriginal and Church leaders "Remembering the Children" Initiative
2008
Winter Term 2008
The theme for this IS conference was inspired by the Invisibly Dignity Art Exhibit. Featuring artists from across Canada, the exhibit portrayed people who are often overlooked and marginalized to the extent that their inherent dignity as image bearers of God is rendered invisible. One of the most radical things that Christians believe is that all human beings bear the image of God. The implications are staggering. Human dignity, rights, self-respect, love for others - all stem from that basic and essential belief.
Fall Term 2008
Food security, eating habits, global poverty, climate change - all of these issues were "on the table" at the "THOUGHT FOR FOOD" conference to be held at King´s January 16 and 17, 2008.
Speakers include Cathy Campbell (author of Stations of the Banquet), representatives of the Canada Food Grains Bank, Cathleen Kneen and members of Stage Left Theatre Company. In addition to lectures, students will attend workshops, concerts, drama, even a cooking class led by Our Chef, Michel Lamontagne.
Workshops included:
- Ron Berezan, The Urban Farmer
- Eating Disorder Education Organization
- Heather Looy, “My Ant is Coming to Dinner”
- Cooking class with Michel Lamontagne
- Micah Challenge Canada representatives
- Wenda Salomons, local artist, speaks on her art installation, Eucharist
- Stu Clark and Megan Peasgood (CFGB) on Bio-fuels
- Brian Martin and Peter Mahaffy on climate change
In addition to this there was a mini-farmers market featuring local producers, an evening Taize worship service, and international potluck dinner.
2007
Winter Term 2007
“Christians who attempt to know and speak of and follow God in academic faithfulness, may find themselves in strange places:
Standing in the midst of a mess
Sitting in the library with a broken heart
Tangled up in the thorns of love
Watching breathless and trembling under the Pleiades
The world is at once tragic and beautiful, and calls forth many responses. Worshipping in the many voices of the Psalms can loosen our tongues and shape our imagination through themes of Wonder, Heartbreak and Hope, deeply rooted Biblical sensibilities that can fund human action in the world.”
Gideon Strauss , our keynote speaker, is the editor of Comment journal; Research and Education; Director for the Christian Labour Association of Canada; and adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Redeemer University College and the Institute for Christian Studies.
Should've - the Canadian premiere of an important play by Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Roald Hoffman.
Jessica Heine From El Salvador to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival to the IS Conference - Jessica Heine is a local singer song-writer with a powerful message and voice, performing in concert Wednesday noon.