Author: Timothy Knepper

On Thursday, February 26, at 6:00 pm in the Harkin Institute (2800 University Ave), Dr. Baolin Wu, Assistant Professor of Religion at Minzu University of China, will lecture on “Disability Care in Early Confucianism: Perspectives on Mutual Interaction.”

For those wishing to attend the lecture virtually, please sign on here at least five minutes in advance: https://drake-edu.zoom.us/j/83878184761.

This lecture explores the treatment of disability in early Confucianism, focusing on key texts such as The Analects of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. It examines how Confucians of the pre-Qin period recognized various forms of physical and mental disabilities, emphasizing that individuals with disabilities deserve basic respect and appropriate care. Confucianism argued that this responsibility falls on the Junzi (君子)—a person committed to moral cultivation and societal improvement through ethical practice. A Junzi does not have to be a ruler but is anyone who takes personal responsibility and actively fosters moral virtue. Early Confucian thought posited that care and support for individuals with disabilities—whether in daily life or through societal structures reflecting moral values—should arise from genuine mutual understanding, taking into account differences in individual abilities.

On Thursday, March 26 at 6:00 pm in the Harkin Institute (2800 University Ave), Dr. Helen Lee Turner, Professor of Religion at Furman University, will lecture on “Disability and Personhood among the Navajo People.” 

For those wishing to attend the lecture virtually, please sign on here at least five minutes in advance: https://drake-edu.zoom.us/j/85200467120.

A Navajo (Diné) medicine man summarizes Navajo perceptions of disability and difference in the following way: “Before the white man came, we were blind [to disabilities]. You brought us the gift of sight. I think we were happier when we couldn’t see.”  The Diné have no word for “disability.”  Long before people with physical or intellectual limitations began to challenge the perspective of ableism seen in modern medicine and culture, the Navajo believed that no one should be autonomous.  Indeed, relationships, even dependent ones, are necessary for health in the Navajo culture. This presentation will focus on traditional Navajo views of relational accountability that prioritize the integration and caretaking of disabled members of the tribe and challenge the understanding of personhood and self-actualization and even the standards of what it means to be healthy in most of modern America.

On Thursday, April 9 at 6:00 pm in the Harkin Institute (2800 University Ave), Dr. Sarah Jean Barton, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy and Theological Ethics at Duke University, will lecture on “’The Work of the People’: Disability and Participation in the Christian Tradition.”

For those wishing to attend the lecture virtually, please sign on here at least five minutes in advance: https://drake-edu.zoom.us/j/89204347295.

Dr. Barton’s talk will explore how theologies and practices of public Christian worship – liturgy – both challenge and provide creative alternatives to typical characterizations of work (e.g. individuality, efficiency, and hypercognitivity) that marginalize disabled communities.

This year marks the ninth consecutive year of our interfaith youth leadership camp. From July 9-13, youth campers of various religious traditions will be learning about the religions of the world and visiting seven different religious communities in the metro area. Also, they will each be writing, recording, and producing a digital-story about an impactful personal faith- or meaning-experience. These stories will be screened for the public on Sunday, July 13 at 3:30 pm in Meredith Hall 101 on Drake’s campus. Free and open to the public!

To watch digital stories from the last eight camps, visit here: https://comparisonproject.wp.drake.edu/camp-archive/.