DIVERSITY | DIALOGUE | FAITH | FREEDOM
THE SOUL OF A CITIZEN Pursuing
an Identity that Matters
THE SOUL OF A CITIZEN
Pursuing an Identity that Matters
Elections can be exhausting. Political advertisements that appeal to fear and anger get the most attention—and the most clicks on social media—in part because they create dopamine surges in us. They also result in pessimism, cynicism, and a desire for more dopamine. As a result, the demands of the 24-hour news cycle encourage many media outlets to pump out content that deliberately incites anger, fear, and derision of others.
“ If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? ”
RABBI HILLEL
But that’s nothing new. In the 1800 presidential election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson supporters and the media referred to Adams as “His Rotundity” and said he had a “hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.” Adams’ supporters referred to Jefferson’s followers as “cut-throats who walk in rags and sleep amidst filth and vermin,” and Adams himself said that Jefferson’s “soured” mind was “eaten to a honeycomb with ambition, yet weak, confused, uninformed, and ignorant.”
Elections can be psychically and emotionally exhausting—particularly so when appeals to fear and anger serve to drown out hope or a better vision of who we are called to be. The good news is that sometimes our better angels arise. When the fervor of the election was 13 years behind them, Adams wrote to Jefferson, “You and I ought not to die before We have explained ourselves to each other.” In response to a question from Adams in 1816, Jefferson wrote, “You ask if I would agree to live my 70, or rather 73, years over again? To which I say Yea. I think with you that it is a good world on the whole, that it has been framed on a principle of benevolence.... I steer my bark with Hope in the head, leaving Fear astern.”
How do we do the same?
This semester at the Center much of what we’re doing focuses on our identities and our better angels. What is our civic—not political—identity? How do racial, religious, or gender identities shape us? What does it mean for us to be an American or to have a civic soul? In America, what does it mean to be decent?
This fall we also look at the roles of voting and of public schools in a democracy. We look at the influence of religion in campaign swag. We even look at what “sacred spaces” at Virginia Wesleyan tell us about our identity. And we reflect on women in the Bible who find themselves having to subvert and go against norms and laws in their own society.
In 1999 Paul Rogat Loeb wrote Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time. The book was said to have been written to respond to the feelings of powerlessness and cynicism seen as prevalent at that time. His claim was that working for social change, in community, gives us identities that matter. He concludes the book’s introduction by quoting Rabbi Hillel, who—2,000 years ago—asked, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?”
Please join us this semester as we reflect together on what it means to have the soul of a citizen, to live in community, and to steer “with Hope in the head, leaving Fear astern.”
Craig and Kelly
CONSTITUTION DAY
Tuesday, September 17 | 11:30 AM -1 PM
NUSBAUM CENTER, CLARKE HALL
Constitutional Cuisine Amendments
and Appetizers
It is not a “Liberty Luncheon” or a “Feast of Freedoms,” but it is a quirky take on American history and an opportunity to learn more about the Constitution in ways that your mouth won’t forget. Come by the Robert Nusbaum Center office anytime between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to enjoy stew, nachos, and snacks and gain deeper insights into and think differently about four of the amendments.
Colin Rafferty was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but grew up on the Kansas side. He attended land grant universities and eventually got an MFA from the University of Alabama. He writes about monuments and memorials (Hallow This Ground, Break Away Books, published in 2016), presidents (Execute the Office, Baobab Press, published in 2021), and Vietnam (in-process). He teaches nonfiction writing at the University of Mary Washington and lives in Richmond with his wife and their dogs.
COOKSON LECTURE
Thursday, October 24 | 7-8 PM BROCK COMMONS
ALL MY PRESIDENTS An Essayist’s Tour of American History
In the nearly 250 years of America’s existence, only 45 men have held its highest office, a strange assortment of politicians, citizens, generals, businessmen, schemers, dreamers, heroes, and failures. Convinced he might find something new to say about the Chief Executives, essayist Colin Rafferty wrote short creative works that took on each president. In his book Execute the Office, George Washington’s teeth dance the Virginia Reel while Ronald Reagan meets John Wayne in a film script. Franklin Pierce gets diagnosed, Rutherford B. Hayes sends postcards from home, George W. Bush watches the hurricane index rise, and we consider what the notion that anyone can become president really means to us.
The Cookson Lecture was established in honor of Catharine Cookson, Ph.D., J.D., who served as the first full-time director of the Robert Nusbaum Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom.
COLIN RAFFERTY
Timothy G. O’Rourke (Ph.D., Duke, Political Science) served as Vice President and Provost at VWU from 2007 to 2019. From Clemson to UVA, from St. Louis to Salisbury (MD) to Virginia Beach, he has been a teacher, scholar, and public servant who has led pioneering efforts designed to connect campus and community and to promote greater citizen engagement in the political process. He has published widely on state and local government and apportionment and has testified on voting rights before both U.S. House and Senate committees. From 1985 to 1992, he served as Executive Director of the Virginia Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.
Tuesday, September 24 | NOON –1 PM | BROCK COMMONS
Laffin’ Kamala
Thursday, September 19 | NOON –1 PM BROCK COMMONS
Rebuilding the Civic Culture
TIMOTHY G. O’ROURKE, PH.D.
Two-thirds of voters think the United States is on the “wrong track” (RealClear Polling). Only 28 percent think our democracy is working well (Gallup). Clear majorities of both Democrats and Republicans see the other party as a threat to America (Ipsos). A failed assassination led to calls to “lower the temperature of our politics,” but our divisions are more than rhetorical. Only one-fourth of voters have a great deal of trust in the federal government, down from three-fourths in 1958 (Pew Research). Over the past 25 years, the percentage of voters valuing patriotism, religion, hard work, voluntarism, and having children has sharply declined (Wall Street Journal). How can we bring Americans together and repair our fraying civic culture?
Racial Identity, Laughter, and Politics
PATRICK GIAMARIO, PH.D.
What might initially seem like a derisive, stilted nickname, “Laffin’ Kamala” reflects how the laughter of Black Americans has long been associated with intense white anxiety, police intervention, and democratic resistance. Ralph Ellison’s 1985 essay “An Extravagance of Laughter” explores how the distinctive sounds, styles, and tonalities of Black laughter are products of a history of racial oppression and how white supremacy sustains itself by treating these differences in laughter as evidence of essential racial difference. How does laughter function politically? How does it shape and express one’s identity? And why do people find laughter threatening? Join Patrick Giamario as he discusses what Ellison’s work can tell us about this timely cultural and political phenomenon.
Patrick Giamario, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He is a political theorist whose research and teaching focus on contemporary democratic theory, critical theory, and the history of political thought. His first book, Laughter as Politics: Critical Theory in an Age of Hilarity, was published by Edinburgh University Press in 2022.
How do Americans see themselves?
How has that changed over the years?
Thursday, October 3 NOON –1 PM BROCK COMMONS
The Battle Behind the Ballot Box
Identity Politics’ Impact on American Elections and Democratic Stability
LESLIE CAUGHELL, PH.D.
How does that affect how they get and receive political information?
And how does this affect the quality of our democracy?
Join us for an important conversation about issues of identity in America and why those issues matter so much today.
Thursday, October 31 | NOON –1 PM | BROCK COMMONS
Leslie Caughell, Ph.D., is Associate Professor Political Science at VWU. Having studied public opinion and political communication at the University of Illinois, she is the author of The Political Battle of the Sexes: Exploring the Gender Gaps in Policy Preferences (2016). Since 2012 she has taught courses at VWU ranging from American government, American political thought, and the presidency to political theory, gender studies, and politics in the media.
The Sparkle and Glitter of Which our Campaigns Are Made
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN BUTTONS AND THE REPRESENTATION OF RELIGION
ERIC MICHAEL MAZUR, PH.D.
Buttons supporting William Jennings Bryan endorsed him—in Yiddish. Fans of Herbert Hoover, a Quaker, demanded “A Christian in the White House,” even though he was running against a Catholic. Bahais proudly declared their support for Barack Obama on their lapels, as did Buddhists, Catholics, Confucians, Druze, and many others.
As former New York Mayor Ed Koch declared, “Buttons, stickers, and songs. . . are the sparkle and glitter of which our campaigns are made.”
In this exploration of presidential campaign buttons, we examine the diversity of religious terms, images, and symbols and how they have been used to communicate both positive and negative messages to potential voters We also examine how religious political campaign buttons now have a more substantive impact as they reveal much about the people who design, circulate, and purchase them.
Eric M. Mazur, Ph.D., is the Gloria and David Furman Professor of Judaic Studies at VWU and serves as the Fellow for Religion, Law, and Politics for the Robert Nusbaum Center.
INVESTING IN IGNORANCE
Dismantling Public Education
CLAIR BERUBE, PH.D.
Thursday, October 17 | NOON –1 PM | BROCK COMMONS
How did American public education begin? How has it been used or denied? Why does any of this matter in a democracy?
This presentation highlights how public education was started and how it has changed in the United States, why some motives and strategies undermine public education, and why teachers today face challenges unlike anything they have experienced before. Desegregation, anti-intellectualism, unique religious forces, the Red Scare, and gun culture all have created challenges in public schools. Clair Berube believes that how we respond matters—a great deal.
Tuesday, October 22 | NOON -1 PM | BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM
Thomas Jefferson’s Ciceronian Universe
The Importance of Being Decent in the American Tradition
BENJAMIN HALLER, PH.D.
In the course of their education, early Virginians like Thomas Jefferson encountered Greek and Latin texts, monuments, and constitutional ideas. So, it’s no surprise that those texts and ideas would end up shaping and influencing the cultural history of Virginia’s Tidewater region. Haller’s most recent book looks at how Jefferson’s readings in Greek and Roman texts led him to articulate ideals of religious freedom and a conviction that all human beings are created equal. Come learn how the rediscovery of a lost palimpsest may have inspired a plan for a planetarium—never completed—in the Rotunda at UVA, how a paint chip prised from a metope at UVA sheds light on Jefferson’s engagement in the question of whether the Greeks painted their statues, and how a tiny inaccuracy in John Trumbull’s famous painting of Independence Hall— which graces the $2 bill—sheds light on Jefferson’s ideas about Greek democracy.
A 1983 alumna of VWU, Clair Berube, Ph.D., studied psychology and was also captain of the softball team. She went on to finish her master’s and doctorate degrees in urban studies and education at Old Dominion University before returning to VWU as a faculty member in 2020. She is co-author of The End of School Reform (2006), The Moral University (2010), and the recently published The Investments: An American Conspiracy (2020).
Benjamin Haller, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Classics at VWU. His research interests include Homer, Archaic Greek poetry, Latin poetry, the Classical Tradition, and Classics in Popular Culture. He is currently working on a Latin textbook (Laetabere!) and several other projects on Homer and the Classical Tradition.
DELIBERATIVE DIALOGUE
Thursday, October 17 | 7-8:30 PM | BROCK COMMONS Registration required. Register with kjackson@vwu.edu (757-455-3129)
ELECTIONS How Should We Encourage and Safeguard Voting?
Increasingly, Americans find it difficult to engage in meaningful conversations across political divides. In an era where shouting past one another has become the norm, public deliberation offers a constructive alternative. By enhancing communication, public deliberation has been shown to improve mutual understanding of differing viewpoints.
With that in mind, many Americans have expressed concerns about the U.S. election system, albeit for different reasons. Is the process of voting too hard? Is the system too easy to manipulate? Do our rules make voting fair and accessible to all? Are we doing enough to ensure accuracy and credibility? Join us for a moderated discussion to explore options for addressing voting concerns, consider diverse viewpoints, and weigh the advantages, drawbacks, and trade-offs of different approaches. By participating in this important conversation, you can contribute to a deeper, more informed dialogue about our election system and help to shape a more inclusive and trustworthy democratic process.
There’s Something About Mary Unusual Portrayals of the Mother of Jesus Religious Freedom and Public Dialogue
A Collaboration with UVA Press
We are pleased to announce a new book series from the University of Virginia Press in partnership with the Robert Nusbaum Center. Religious Freedom and Public Dialogue: A Robert Nusbaum Center Series, is co-edited by Eric Michael Mazur (VWU) and Kathleen M. Moore (University of California, Santa Barbara), and brings together a range of scholarship that explores the various ways religious freedom in the United States has been conceptualized and represented.
The first volume, to be published this fall, is Steven K. Green’s The Grand Collaboration: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Invention of Religious Freedom. Green is the Fred H. Paulus Professor of Law and Affiliated Professor of History and Religious Studies at Willamette University and the author of Separating Church and State: A History (2022). He is a prolific author whose writings have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts. In the spring we look forward to welcoming Dr. Green to campus and to officially launching the series with a celebration.
Thursday, October 10 | NOON-1 PM
REPEATED 1:30-2:30 PM
Meet in front of MONUMENTAL CHAPEL/ BEAZLEY RECITAL HALL
A TOUR OF UNRECOGNIZED SACRED SPACES AT VWU
Sponsored in partnership with Dr. Kathy Stolley’s Sociology courses “Social Justice and Health,” “Introduction to Sociology,” and “Visual Sociology.”
IF THIS GROUND COULD TALK ROCK PAINTING
Wednesday, December 4 | 1-4:30 PM THE LIGHTHOUSE, CLARKE HALL
Stress relief. Creative expression. Kindness. Community building. Caring for others.
What did newly freed slaves have to do with the VWU campus? What is the intentionally secret message at the statue of John Wesley? Why did a grove of trees cause deep controversy on campus? Why is a peace pole at the center of campus? Why was AIDS seen as particularly important here? These and other questions will be addressed on a walking tour of VWU’s sacred spaces, conducted by Professors Kathy Stolley and Craig Wansink, former VWU professors Steve Mansfield and Larry Hultgren, and Nusbaum Center Associate Director Kelly Jackson.
A sacred space is more than just a physical location; it is a place imbued with significance, memory, and a sense of reverence while some such spaces are obvious, (e.g.,Yosemite National Park, the Lincoln Memorial, and the National Cathedral), VWU’s sacred spaces may not be as immediately recognizable. Join us as we visit and learn about sites at VWU that serve as touchstones for reflection, remembrance, and inspiration.
On a day when the University recognizes academic achievement, internships, study away, and important values of VWU, step away from the academic activity of the day for a time of reflection on values relating to peace and community. Gather with Professors Kathy Stolley and Craig Wansink, and Nusbaum Center Associate Director Kelly Jackson for a session of rock painting, recognizing that the stones painted will become sources of inspiration in the University’s Peace Garden.
Located just outside the Robert Nusbaum Center at the center of campus, the Peace Garden honors a true peacemaker: the late Catharine Cookson, former director of the Center. Anchoring the garden is a Peace Pole, bearing the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in a different language on each of its four sides. The Peace Pole was given by the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia’s Peacemaking Ministry Team in honor of the legacy of longtime team member William “Bill” Granville Sale, Jr. It joins the more than 250,000 Peace Poles that are planted in nearly every country symbolizing the hopes and dreams of the entire human family.
Please join us to learn more about peace poles, create something meaningful, and relax.
CHRYSLER GALLERY TOUR
Thursday, November 14 | 10:30-11:30 AM
REPEATED NOON-1 PM
CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART, NORFOLK (Meet in Chrysler Lobby) Registration required. Register with kjackson@vwu.edu (757-455-3129)
CRAIG WANSINK, PH.D.
Lot’s daughters, the Pharaoh’s daughter, Manoah’s wife, Sarah, Hagar, Abigail, Rebekah, and Eve. Some of the most striking paintings in the Chrysler Museum’s collection focus on women in the Bible who were faced with dark and challenging situations that made them question their own identity. Join Nusbaum Center Director Craig Wansink as he leads a walking tour through the Chrysler Museum of Art and through the Bible, reflecting on women who faced crises that made them both question their own identity and make difficult decisions in the process.
From Crisis to Compassion
Sex, Subversion, and the Identity of Biblical Women
CHRYSLER GALLERY TOUR
Saturday, November 23 | 12:30-1:30 PM
REPEATED Sunday, November 24 | 2-3 PM
CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART, NORFOLK (Meet in Chrysler Lobby) Registration required. Register with kjackson@vwu.edu (757-455-3129)
The American Canvas Art, Texts, and Our Civic Soul
CRAIG WANSINK, PH.D.
What does it mean to be a citizen?
What does it mean to be an American? Is there a distinct American identity or a civic soul?
This unique tour examines how the art of the Chrysler Museum of Art gives us a lens to see our national diversity and values. We focus on distinctive works of art, including The Apotheosis of Washington, The Declaration of Independence, Angel on the Battlefield, Palimpsest: Hampton Roads, and Motives. These works are coupled with brief classic American texts, including Emma Lazarus’ “The New Colossus,” and selections from works including Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “The Slave’s Appeal” and Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Join us for a time that looks beyond politics and into our civic soul.
Craig Wansink, Ph.D., is Batten Professor of Religious Studies and Leadership and the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center at VWU. He has studied at universities in Japan, Jordan, Germany, and Israel. He also serves as Senior Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Norfolk.
Tuesday, September 3 | 9-10:15 AM | BROCK COMMONS
Environmental Stewardship, Eco-Fiction, and Pearce Oysters
JOSELYN TAKACS, PH.D.
The 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had devastating and far-reaching consequences. Joselyn Takacs discusses her activism and her interviews with Louisiana oyster farmers in the wake of that environmental disaster, along with a reading from Pearce Oysters, her debut novel. This work of eco-fiction—inspired by the BP tragedy and Takacs’ interviews—follows the Pearce family, local oyster farmers whose business, family, and livelihood are on the brink of collapse.
Joselyn Takacs holds a Ph.D. in creative writing and literature from the University of Southern California and an MFA in fiction from Johns Hopkins University. Her fiction has appeared in Gulf Coast, Narrative, Harvard Review, The Rumpus, DIAGRAM, Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art, and elsewhere.
Sponsored in collaboration with a Batten Honors College course on water and contemporary environmental issues.
Welcoming a New Neighbor
World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads
Virginia Wesleyan University is excited to welcome the World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads as an on-campus partner. The Robert Nusbaum Center is particularly thrilled to have the Council as a neighbor in Clarke Hall.
Founded in 1969, it is one of nearly 100 chapters of the World Affairs Councils of America. It is part of the largest non-profit, non-partisan educational organization dedicated to engaging the public and leading global voices to foster a better understanding of the world and America’s international role. For more information, visit hrwac.org.
We’re eager to collaborate with our new neighbor in bringing world-class experts to Hampton Roads for discussions on pressing international issues. This partnership promises to enhance our community’s engagement with global affairs and enrich the intellectual life of our campus.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
SEPTEMBER
3
17
Environmental Stewardship, Eco-Fiction, and Pearce Oysters
Joselyn Takacs, Ph.D.
Tuesday, 9 –10:15 AM
Brock Commons
CONSTITUTION DAY
Constitutional Cuisine: Amendments and Appetizers
Tuesday, 11:30 AM-1 PM
Robert Nusbaum Center, Clarke Hall
19
Rebuilding the Civic Culture
Timothy G. O’Rourke, Ph.D.
Thursday, 12-1 PM
Brock Commons
24 “Laffin’ Kamala”: Racial Identity, Laughter, and Politics
Patrick Giamario, Ph.D.
Tuesday, 12-1 PM
Brock Commons
OCTOBER
3 The Battle Behind the Ballot Box: Identity Politics’ Impact on American Elections and Democratic Stability
Leslie Caughell, Ph.D.
Thursday, 12-1 PM
Brock Commons
10
If This Ground Could Talk: A Tour of Unrecognized Sacred Spaces at VWU
Thursday, 12-1 PM, Repeated 1:30-2:30 PM Tour begins in front of VWU Monumental Chapel/Beazley Recital Hall
17 Investing in Ignorance: Dismantling Public Education
Clair Berube, Ph.D.
Thursday, 12-1 PM
Brock Commons
17
DELIBERATIVE DIALOGUE
Elections: How Should We Encourage and Safeguard Voting?
Thursday, 7-8:30 PM
Brock Commons Registration required. Register with kjackson@vwu.edu (757-455-3129)
22 Thomas Jefferson’s Ciceronian Universe: The Importance of Being Decent in the American Tradition
Benjamin Haller, Ph.D.
Tuesday, 12-1 PM
Blocker Hall Auditorium
24 COOKSON LECTURE
All My Presidents: An Essayist’s Tour of American History
Colin Rafferty
Thursday, 7-8 PM
Brock Commons
31
The Sparkle and Glitter of which our Campaigns are Made: U.S. Presidential Campaign Buttons and the Representation of Religion
Eric M. Mazur, Ph.D.
Thursday, 12-1 PM
Brock Commons
NOVEMBER
14
CHRYSLER GALLERY TOUR
From Crisis to Compassion: Sex, Subversion, and the Identity of Biblical Women
Craig Wansink, Ph.D.
Thursday, 10:30-11:30 AM, Repeated 12-1 PM
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk (Meet in Chrysler Lobby) Registration required. Register with kjackson@vwu.edu (757-455-3129)
23
CHRYSLER GALLERY TOUR
ROBERT NUSBAUM CENTER
The American Canvas: Art, Texts, and Our Civic Soul
Craig Wansink, Ph.D.
Saturday, 12:30-1:30 PM
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk (Meet in Chrysler Lobby) Registration required. Register with kjackson@vwu.edu (757-455-3129)
24
CHRYSLER GALLERY TOUR
The American Canvas: Art, Texts, and Our Civic Soul
(Repeat of Saturday gallery tour as listed above)
ROBERT NUSBAUM CENTER
Craig Wansink, Ph.D.
Sunday, 2-3 PM
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY DIVERSITY | DIALOGUE | FAITH | FREEDOM
DECEMBER
4 Rock Painting
Wednesday, 1-4:30 PM
The Lighthouse, Clarke Hall
ROBERT NUSBAUM CENTER
ROBERT NUSBAUM CENTER
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY DIVERSITY | DIALOGUE | FAITH | FREEDOM
Craig Wansink, Ph.D.
Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center, and Batten Professor of Religious Studies and Leadership, and Chair in the Department of Religious Studies
Kelly Jackson
Associate Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center
Eric Mazur, Ph.D.
Fellow for Religion, Law, and Politics for the Robert Nusbaum Center, and the Gloria and David Furman Professor of Judaic Studies
757.455.3129 vwu.edu/nusbaumcenter NusbaumCenter@vwu.edu
Understanding
DIVERSITY | DIALOGUE | FAITH | FREEDOM is published twice a year by the ROBERT NUSBAUM CENTER at Virginia Wesleyan University
EDITOR Craig Wansink, Ph.D.
MANAGING EDITOR Kelly Jackson
Tools We Appreciate
The internet eases access to information but also spreads misinformation.
Here are four websites to help view multiple perspectives and spot misinformation:
• AllSides.com (est. 2012)
Shows news from the political left, center, and right to expose media bias.
• Snopes.com (est.1994)
Fact-checks urban legends, myths, rumors, and misinformation.
• Leadstories.com (est. 2015)
Debunks trending misinformation and fake news, especially on social media.
• FactCheck.org (est. 2003) Provides political fact-checking and analysis.