Timothy Knepper, associate professor of philosophy at Drake University, will address the future of the philosophy of religion in the first presentation of the spring Drake Center for the Humanities Colloquium Series on Friday, Jan. 29.
The free public presentation, “Is There a Future to the Philosophy of Religion?” will be held from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Honors Lounge of Medbury Hall, 2730 Forest Ave.
Knepper will consider the field of the philosophy of religion, one of the oldest of academic philosophical inquiry.
Noting that the traditional, western-centric methods and aims of the field are found increasingly less viable in a religiously diverse world, he will argue that the field must become thoroughly comparative while remaining cautiously evaluative in order to continue its contribution to philosophic analysis.
Knepper holds a doctoral degree in the philosophy of religion from Boston University. The author of “How to Say What Can’t Be Said: Discourses of Ineffability in the Philosophy of Religion and Dionysius the Areopagite,” his latest research focuses on a comparative study of ineffability expressions.
He teaches courses on ancient philosophy, comparative philosophy, Asian philosophy, and philosophies of language and religion at Drake.
The Humanities Colloquium Series will continue through the spring with the following presentations, which will take place from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Honors Lounge of Medbury Hall:
- Feb. 12 — Nancy Berns, associate professor of the study of culture and society, “Forgetting vs. Remembering: Politics of Mourning, Sacred Space and Public Memory”
- March 5 — Darcie Vandegrift, associate professor of the study of culture and society, “Global Youth Studies: The Perils and Promise of Theorizing Cross-National Youth Identity”
- March 26 — Maura Strassberg, professor of law, “Feminist and Hegelian Perspectives on the Legal Status of Polygamy, Polyamory and Same-Sex Marriage”
- April 9 — Stacey Tovino, director of health law and policy and associate professor of law, “Scientific Understandings of Postpartum Illness: Improving Health Law and Policy”
- April 30 — Peiqin Zhou, visiting Fulbright Scholar, “Christianity and English Learning in Nanjing, China”
For more information about the series, contact Craig Owens, director of the Drake Center for the Humanities, at 515-271-3876 or craig.owens@drake.edu.