Viewing entries tagged
Capps Center
Author Amanda J. Baugh talks about the link between environmentalism and Latinx Catholic faith, in her recent book Falling in Love with Nature: The Values of Latinx Catholic Environmentalism. Baugh investigates “la tierra environmentalism,” a widespread ethic of living on earth and protecting one’s environment just as one would their neighbor. She was recently hosted by UCSB’s Walter H. Capps Center.
UC Santa Barbara’s Walter H. Capps Center hosted a virtual panel last week about the influence of religion in politics and the 2024 election. Panelists were University of Pennsylvania religious studies professor Anthea Butler, North Florida University professor Julie Ingersoll, and UC Santa Barbara professor Joseph Blankholm. The audience heard that Christian nationalists aim to establish a theocratic government, viewing a figure like Donald Trump as a vehicle for gaining political and religious power. Panelists warned of potential violence as these movements see themselves in a battle of good against evil.
UC Riverside religious studies professor Melissa M. Wilcox spoke to a UC Santa Barbara audience last week about her research on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an international group of drag queens and queer activists. Wilcox was invited by UCSB's Walter H. Capps Center as part of its 60th-anniversary celebrations. Her book, Queer Nuns: Religion, Activism, and Serious Parody, explores how the Sisters blend drag, activism, and religious imagery to challenge societal norms around gender and morality.
UC Santa Barbara's Walter H. Capps Center hosted Diane Winston, Knight Chair of Media and Religion at the University of Southern California, for a lecture on her book Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan's Evangelical Vision. She spoke about the role religion played in both Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump's presidency and how media helped popularize the politics of the Christian right.
Russell M. Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, spoke at UCSB about the racial violence and hate that rose during the COVID-19 era and how that racial trauma has affected the community’s mental health. Jeung said that Asian Americans have been able to grow past these traumas by relying on their Asian identities and using cultural responses.
Sarah Dunne, a doctoral candidate in UC Santa Barbara's History department, gave a talk about Queer bookstores and their historical significance—how they created vital community spaces for LGBTQ members and had first-hand involvement in gay liberation advocacy. A rise in the number of Queer bookstores occurred in the 70s after the first bookstore dedicated to LGBTQ work opened in 1967, the Oscar Wilde Bookstore.
Lerone A Martin, Stanford religious studies professor who directs the university’s Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, recently talked about the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who ran the FBI for half a century. Hoover curated networks and worked with prominent white evangelists to promote and strengthen Christian nationalism. Martin used recently declassified documents to expose the religious culture in the FBI during Hoover’s era, which has had long lansting repercussions.
UC Santa Barbara’s Walter H. Capps Center welcomed UC Berkeley professor Khiara M. Bridges for a lecture titled “Race in the Roberts Court: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.“ Bridges discussed the history of restricting reproductive healthcare for Black women in the United States, and what this ruling means for future discourse on race in the Supreme Court.
To celebrate the life and legacy of former U.S. House of Representatives member and UCSB Religious Studies professor Walter Capps a quarter century after his passing, a symposium was hosted by the Walter H. Capps Center. One panel focused on Capps’ ground-breaking Vietnam War class, which opened national discussion that prioritized mental health care for veterans. The session this month brought the insight and healing of that innovative class to a new generation.
With a passion to protect the environment, Jian Hong Shi interned at the Environmental Defense Center, the only public-interest environmental law group from Los Angeles to San Francisco and a partner organization of the Sara Miller McCune Endowed Internship and Public Service Program housed within the Walter H. Capps Center. “In addition to writing updates for our monthly emails, I wrote an item in our biannual printed edition,” she said. “It was about our recent achievement securing a 100-foot buffer between the new Heritage Ridge development project and the Los Carneros Creek, which will protect sensitive wildlife habitat.“
The Walter H. Capps Center invited a panel of UCSB faculty to discuss holistic approaches to ending sexual violence on campus. Panelists stressed the importance of informal healing processes, or ‘alternate resolutions,’ as valid and useful for survivors.
Activists in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, including Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, visited UC Santa Barbara’s Multicultural Center to speak about the increase in Anti-AAPI violence and bias in America after the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a panel discussion, Kulkarni gave a keynote presentation titled “Challenging Hate: How to Stop AAPI Violence.”
Civil liberties and democracy scholar Ellis Cose spoke to a UC Santa Barbara audience last week. Cose presented two distinct threats to American democracy — social and institutional - and answered student questions about the future of democracy in the United States.
Although Christian nationalism is slowly gaining support among Republicans and older Americans, last month’s election results were not as bad as some people expected for Democrats, UC Santa Barbara alum and Skidmore College associate professor Brad Onishi said at an event co-sponsored by UCSB’s Walter H. Capps Center.
Environmental Studies Major and Indigenous Studies Minor Katie Miller is an Intern for the Walter H. Capps Center at UC Santa Barbara, which focuses on the connection between environment, society, and ethics. Miller is workign at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden to catalog and preserve plants native to California. She met with UCSB Writing student for an interview and accompanying video.
On January 6, 2021, when an armed mob stormed the U.S. capitol building to prevent Congress from verifying the presidential election, viewers were surprised to see rioters sporting Christian symbols. But for author and sociology professor Samuel Perry, the Christian symbolism at the insurrection represented a growing ideological trend in American politics. In a recent talk, Perry presented research from national surveys to define the ideology known as Christian nationalism and illuminate the threat such ideas pose to U.S democracy.
Environmental sustainability professor from the University of Michigan, Kyle Whyte, spoke to a virtual UCSB audience about climate justice and the importance of including of Indigenous peoples in the fight against climate change. This event was presented by the Walter H. Capps Center.
The Capps Center at UC Santa Barbara recently held a two-part virtual event, where student panelists aired their thoughts on political issues that drive the electoral decisions of young voters. The session leading up to the election was titled “What Students Want?” and the one held a week after voting aptly asked “Where Do We Go From Here?”
With a new year comes new leadership for the Walter Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion and Public Life. Greg Johnson, formerly a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado and board member of the American Academy of Religion, assumed the role of Director earlier this month, hoping to increase the Center’s engagement with UCSB’s undergraduate population and focus the Center around contemporary topics such as climate change and the collapse of democracy.
Pamella Nadell, director of the Jewish Studies Program at American University, spoke to UCSB and the larger community about the history of America’s Jewish Women. The talk was part of the Taubman Symposia, a lecture series dedicated to promoting Jewish culture.
