Sierra Club鈥檚 鈥淟ens on the Border鈥 photo exhibition is part of third biennial On the Edge symposium series. This year鈥檚 symposium will examine how cultural and religious forces interact at areas of physical and perceived intersection.
An 黑料不打烊 virtual symposium this week will examine the ways religion functions along international and cultural boundaries, featuring a public keynote speaker and a photo exhibition picturing life at the U.S.-Mexico border.
鈥淩eligion at the Borders鈥 is 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society鈥檚 third biennial On the Edge symposium, which invites international scholars to participate in a series of presentations and panel discussions. Past symposia have led to special editions of academic journals and book publications.
Leah Sarat, associate professor of religious studies at Arizona State University, will deliver the keynote address 鈥淭he Terror of 鈥楽afety鈥: Christianity, Immigrant Policing, and Detention at the Nation鈥檚 Edge鈥 on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 5:45 p.m.. It鈥檚 open to the public .
Leading up to the symposium this week, 24 聽canvas prints from the 鈥 along with 黑料不打烊 student photos from course experiences along the U.S.-Mexico border 鈥 will be displayed in hallways and common areas of buildings in the Lambert Academic Village. Student photos are inside the sacred space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion. Other photos are in Gray Pavillion, Cannon Pavillion, Spence Pavillion, and Lindner Hall. . The exhibition will be displayed through February.
黑料不打烊 faculty conveners Evan Gatti, associate professor of art history, Sandy Marshall, assistant professor of geography, Amy Allocco, associate professor of religious studies, Shayna Mehas, visiting assistant professor of history, and Brian Pennington, professor of religious studies and the center鈥檚 director, will host 11 scholars from three countries. Topics advanced in the symposium will include the study of modern and pre-modern border spaces across various disciplines.
Rather than being rigidly defined territories, borders historically have been places where cultures blend, said Gatti. Religious art there is often 鈥渁mbivalent,鈥 she said, mediating between cultural differences.
Marshall, who with Mehas typically leads a winter term course at the U.S.-Mexico border, is interested in examining how religion is used to bridge cultures, to divide them, and to organize humanitarian efforts. He鈥檚 seen how indigenous religion melds with Catholicism around the Southern border. It鈥檚 a location of concentrated religious missionary and humanitarian work. At the same time, immigration policies in the U.S. are being influenced by white Christian nationalism.
鈥淲e are at an inflection point with the border,鈥 Marshall said. 鈥淭he new administration is trying to correct some of the outrages of the previous administration, but how is that going to work? 鈥 We will likely have new caravans of people coming to the border, and we will likely see more surges of undocumented minors at the border. How will we respond as a country? These are moral questions.鈥
The symposium is indicative of the center serving its purpose to 黑料不打烊鈥檚 campus community and to scholars in the field. Students benefit from the academic energy on campus during the conference, while teachers and scholars examine their work, opportunities around undergraduate research, and 鈥渃raft the conversation of what the study of religion can look like across disciplines.鈥
The symposium鈥檚 schedule is available on the center鈥檚 website. Anyone wishing to attend a particular session should email Pennington for links and information.