A Program that is Part of the Tibetan Monk Residency,
Enlightened Activity: The Green Tara Initiative

Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Dan Cozort, Dickinson College
Tibetan Monks, Drepung Monastery’s Gomang College

Mandala making is part of a distinctive religious practice called tantra or vajrayana. The practitioner of the Tara tantra chants a liturgy that describes Tara and the cosmos, symbolized by the mandala, but in three dimensions. As he chants, he visualizes the three dimensional mandala and visualizes Tara within it; then he suddenly becomes Tara and visualizes doing feats of vast generosity and healing. The chanting is done in an unusual and distinctive manner; the monks employ a tone so low that it generates overtones, so that each monk is singing a chord. They also use bells, drums, and sometimes a kind of oboe. Before the puja begins, Prof. Cozort will give a short illustrated talk about Tara, the mandala, and the puja, making the connection between what the monks are doing and Buddhist insights into greed, delusion, and ill-will as the roots of environmental degradation and consumerism.

This residency is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by Read more

Vanderbilt University

Obama Is Brazilian: (Re)Signifying Race Relations in Contemporary Brazil

Thursday, November 12, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Barack Obama’s election to the American presidency in 2009 sparked a renewed interest in the theme of race in the Americas, and worldwide. The sight of an African American as President of the United States led analysts to declare that North America was living in a post-racial era. But Obama’s election also had a tremendous impact on the imaginary of the African Diaspora.  This lecture will examine his characterizations in the Brazilian media, especially in examples of political humor, such as cartoons and memes.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by Latin American, Latino and Caribbean studies, Portuguese and Brazilian studies and the department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
Professor Oliveira-Monte’s research interests include Afro-Brazilian literature, race relations, race in comparative perspective, the Afro-Diasporic experience, the relationship between politics and literature, literature of human rights, as well as Brazilian Cinema and Popular Culture. Her manuscript Writing Identity: The Politics of Contemporary Afro-Brazilian Literature (Purdue UP, 2007) examines the intricate connections between literary production and political action by focusing Read more

Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:30 p.m.

Dickinson  Panelists:

Andrea Lieber, associate professor of religion and Judaic studies
Jeffrey McCausland, visiting professor of international security studies
Edward Webb, associate professor of political science and international studies
Anthony Williams (moderator), visiting professor of political science and security studies

On July 11^th, 2015, Iran and a group of six nations led by the United States reached a historic agreement limiting Tehran’s nuclear ability in exchange for lifting international oil and financial sanctions. The overall goal of the accord is to increase Iran’s “breakout time” – the time it would take Iran to make enough material for a single nuclear weapon. Critics of the negotiation question the verifiability of the constraints and the long-term impact on  regional and world stability.  The panel, comprised of Dickinson College faculty members, will explore the historic negotiation and its international policy, security and cultural implications.

The event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues. It is was also initiated by the Student Project Managers of the Clarke Forum.

Biographies (provided by the panelists)

Andrea Lieber is associate professor of religion and Sophia Ava Asbell Read more