ASU lecture to discuss religion and violence in stadium sports
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht will lecture at CSRC on Nov. 2. Photo by by Reto Klar.
How do religion and violence factor into sporting events?
Professor Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht will explore these themes by considering the live spectacle of stadium sports in his lecture at 1 p.m., Nov. 2, in Arizona State University's West Hall, room 135, on the Tempe campus.
Gumbrecht is the Albert Guérard Professor in Literature in the Department of Comparative Literature at Stanford University. He is also an expert in national literatures in romance languages and aesthetic experiences in 21st-century culture.
His 2006 book “In Praise of Athletic Beauty” explores the public’s fascination with sports. Gumbrecht’s visit is part of the multi-year faculty seminar “Religion, Sports, and Violence”, established with seed grant funding from the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict.
The group, which includes ASU faculty and grad students, meets regularly on the intersections of social issues and sports. Members provide an interdisciplinary approach to the research with expertise ranging from history and philosophy to psychology and anthropology.
In November 2015 the group hosted Eric Bain-Selbo, the head of Philosophy and Religion at Western Kentucky University, for his lecture "Sacred Battles: Violence in Southern Sport and Culture".
This event is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a Q&A session. For more information or to RSVP, please visit the event webpage or call 480-727-6736. For classes or other large groups, please contact CSRC directly at csrc@asu.edu.
The Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict is an interdisciplinary research unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that examines the role of religion as a driving force in human affairs.