Bruce Lawrence, distinguished professor and chair of the department of religion at Duke University, will deliver the 1998-99 lecture series "American Lectures in the History of Religions" at the University of Colorado at Boulder on March 3, 4 and 5.
The theme of the three-part series is "New Faiths, Old Fears: Recent Immigrants and the Challenge of Diasporic Spiritual Practices to North American Norms and Values."
Lawrence will use cyberspace demonstrations to explore the dynamics of diversity in American religion and how immigrants are influencing the religious landscape.
Following is the schedule for the lecture series:
o Wednesday, March 3, 4:30 p.m., Education Building, room 220: North American Religion or Religions? Two Opposite Views from Harvard Yard
o Thursday, March 4, 7:30 p.m., Economics Building, room 117: From Civil to Cyber Society: Will God.com Delude or Empower Immigrant Netizens in the 21st 'American' Century? (Reception to follow)
o Friday, March 5, 4 p.m., Economics Building, room 117: Revisiting Religious Pluralism: How Hypervisual is Our Approach to Both American Religions and Immigrants' Religious Options?
Lawrence is one of American's leading historians of religion. His major areas of research and publication are institutional Islam, pre-modern and modern, especially in South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as Indo-Persian Sufism.
He is the author of the widely cited book, "Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age," winner of the 1990 American Academy of Religion award for excellence. Recently Lawrence has published "Shattering the Myth: Islam Beyond Violence," and a treatise is forthcoming titled, "Go God Go: The Persistence of Religion in the Global Century."
"Bruce Lawrence is one of the most vital and challenging thinkers concerning religion in the modern world," said Fred Denny, CU-Boulder professor of religious studies. "This series focuses particularly on America, where he sees new religions from Asia, Latin America and other countries as a tremendous challenge to American thinking."
The lectures are sponsored by the department of religious studies, the Center for Asian Studies, the Graduate Committee on the Humanities and Arts and the American Academy of Religion.
Admission is free and open to the public. For more information call Professor Denny at (303) 492-6358 or send e-mail to: frederick.denny@colorado.edu.