Printer-friendly version

In this issue of Impetus, we urge our readers to consider the complex relationships between religion, culture, ethics and social justice. Not just consider, however. In their own ways, each of our current submissions is not only a call to reflection but a call to action.

In his article “The Liberal Arts and Crisis / Crisis in the Liberal Arts,” sociologist William Stahl challenges the reader, the academy and members of the broader society to rethink the role of the liberal arts in the university. He discusses a matrix of themes (including ethics, social justice and global citizenship) that, when acted upon, provide a place to begin this task.

Noel Chevalier’s essay “All My Hope on Harry is Founded” is a useful example of the sort of creative analysis for which Stahl calls. Chevalier examines the relationship between Christianity and culture through his work on the Harry Potter series. He enters into the current debate around Rowling’s books regarding the presence (or absence) of Christian images, metaphors and teachings. In particular, he examines the roots of the anxiety that some American Christian groups have expressed about the books and draws from this analysis significant conclusions about the relationship of Christianity to secular humanism and ethics.

Our other two submissions provide clear examples of how the same questions can be meditated and acted upon in personal and concrete ways.

In her personal essay “The Heart of a Pilgrim,” Jennifer Arends shares the story of her summer vacation. Hers was not a summer spent lying on the beach, but rather walking 800-kilometers across northern Spain on the historic pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. She recounts the moments of disappointment, of exhaustion, of physical pain, but also the lessons learned through the effort made to push past one’s physical limits. Those lessons are both fundamental and enduring.

In his video submission Voices from Missing Women: Decolonization, Third Wave Feminisms, and Indigenous People of Canada and Mexico, John Hampton takes us to the Missing Indigenous Women Conference held at First Nations University of Canada in 2008, which brought together scholars, activists and members of faith communities from around Canada and Mexico to examine the issue of violence against indigenous women. His short video captures something of the spirit of that conference, where participants worked through tragic stories, daunting statistics and attempts to triumph through adversity, where they learned from others’ experiences and marched together in solidarity to effect change.

We hope that you find these items to be stimulating, thought-provoking and a vehicle for further reflection and action.

Yvonne Petry, on behalf of the Impetus editorial board