Department of Religion Weekly Book Talk Series
Beginning Wednesday, April 17 and running through Wednesday, May 8, the Department of Religion will offer a weekly Book Talk Series featuring best-selling books of some of Chautauqua’s recent Interfaith Lecture Series speakers. Simran Jeet Singh, Jillian Hanesworth, Andrew Seidel, and Laurel Braitman join us for an enlightening 90-minute session. Each session includes a presentation by the author, an interactive Q-and-A, and facilitated breakout discussions.
This four-week educational opportunity offers both synchronous and asynchronous content, for a cost of $175. However, due to the intimate nature of these conversations, enrollment will be capped at 30, so be sure to register today!
Simran Jeet Singh — The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life
April 17, 2:30–4 p.m. EDT
Simran Jeet Singh, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Religion & Society Program at the Aspen Institute. Simran also serves as an Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity with Columbia University and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, a Soros Equality Fellow with the Open Society Foundations, a Visiting Lecturer at Union Seminary, and a Senior Advisor on Equity and Inclusion for YSC Consulting, part of Accenture.
The author of the award-winning children’s book Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon, he is also a frequent contributor to publications such as The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, CNN, TIME Magazine, and Religion News Service.
Through his work he focuses on addressing bias, promoting empathy, and advocating for justice in various settings, including corporate, university and government environments.
Jillian Hanesworth — The Revolution Will Rhyme
April 24, 2:30–4 p.m. EDT
Jillian Hanesworth is an EMMY award-nominated spoken word artist, the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Buffalo, New York and a community organizer and activist. Jillian travels the country performing poetry and speaking on various topics including; art for activism, the impacts of storytelling, and the importance of honest and critical social and political conversations. In addition, Jillian oversees Buffalo Books, a nationally recognized program which aims to improve access to culturally relevant books for residents of the east side of Buffalo with the hopes of helping to increase literacy rates among Black and brown communities.
Andrew Seidel — The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American
May 1, 2:30–4 p.m. EDT
A prolific author of op-eds and scholarly articles, Andrew L. Seidel is a constitutional and civil rights attorney and the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American (2019, foreword by Susan Jacoby) and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom (2022, foreword by Erwin Chemerinsky). He is also co-editor of an academic textbook, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials 5th Edition, with Prof. Leslie Griffin of William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV. Currently, Andrew is the senior correspondent at religion dispatches and the VP of strategic communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the largest organization fighting for that founding principle.
Laurel Braitman — What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love
May 8, 2:30–4 p.m. EDT
Laurel Braitman, Ph.D. is a writer, teacher and secular clinical chaplain-in-training. Author of NYT best-selling book Animal Madness: Inside Their Minds, her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, Wired, California Sunday, National Geographic, Radiolab, National Public Radio, and many other publications. Laurel is also the director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine’s Medical Humanities and the Arts Program. Here, she helps clinical students, staff and physicians communicate more clearly and vulnerably for their own benefit and that of their patients.
