While the word ‘apocalypse’ points to the idea of a revelation (of Truth) leading to a new dispensation, and the idea of catastrophe in Greek drama referred to the turning point in the unfolding of a drama, the modern secular meaning of catastrophe is associated with the notion of total disaster from which no revelation is necessarily disclosed and from which no escape is envisioned. The colonization of North America involved a violent conflict with Native Americans resulting in both physical and cultural destruction. Our symposium will explore catastrophe in Native American history within the framework of land, dispossession, and imagination. [read more»]

Wednesday, 27th February brings Thomas Csordas to the Religion Committee, to speak on Hammering the Devil with Prayer: The Contemporary Resurgence of Exorcism. As usual, we will meet from 12.30-2pm in room 5307 of the Graduate Center, and coffee and cookies will be served.