Dr. Ronald M. Davidson Lecture and Reception, April 17, 5pm

The Humanities Institute and Department of Religious Studies will host a special event in honor of the retirement of the Institute’s founding Director, and Professor of Religious Studies, Dr. Ronald M. Davidson. On Wednesday, April 17 at 5 PM in the Diffley room of Bellarmine Hall, Dr. Davidson, one of the world’s foremost scholars of Buddhist Studies, will give a public lecture entitled “Feral Humanist: Buddhism and Intellectual Pilgrimage at the Margins of Respectability.” A catered reception and open bar will follow for all in attendance.

In his talk, Dr. Davidson will discuss the crisis in the humanities, coupled with his own personal journey, that led to the proposals for the Humanities Institute being reformulated and faculty-led. This retrospective will include a brief history of his family from the founding of Fairfield Town in the 17^th century to the 19^th century West, as well as reflections on hippie life, monastic Tibetan Buddhism and the complications of how a vibrant Humanities Institute may best be institutionalized.

The lecture will be accessible via this webinar ink for those unable to attend in person:

https://fairfield.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FSOz6v6uT3it-8n-18yP3g

We hope to see you there, in person or virtually.