Rev. Dr. Dorsey Blake will present the 48th Annual Distinguished Faculty Lecture titled, “Howard Thurman: Seeking, Queering, and Transcending" on November 7, 2023, at 5:00 PM PST.
The Rev. Dr. Blake is Faculty Associate, Leadership and Social Transformation, at Pacific School of Religion, a member school of the GTU. He also served for six years as Dean of Faculty and Visiting Professor of Spirituality and Prophetic Justice at Starr King School for the Ministry, a former member school of the GTU.
In his lecture, Dr. Blake will discuss how Dr. Howard Thurman is often described as Poet, Mystic, Philosopher, and Theologian. Yet the labels do not capture his uniqueness. He transcended labels. In a personal conversation with me he called himself “a seeker.” As a seeker, he queered normative understandings of the institutions and overall systems in which he was involved leading to alternative ways of being and living.
The respondent for this lecture will be Dr. Munir Jiwa, Founding Director & Associate Professor, Center for Islamic Studies, Graduate Theological Union.
Each November, the GTU faculty honors a distinguished professor who embodies the scholarly standards, teaching excellence and commitment to ecumenism that defines the GTU. Nominations are made by GTU faculty and are then considered by the Council of Deans, which selects the lecturer. This year's lecture is co-hosted by GTUx.
The event will be hybrid with an in-person audience located in the GTU Dinner Board Room, Flora Lamson Hewlett Library. Contact Sabrina Kennedy by October 25th by 5:00 pm at skennedy@gtu.edu if you would like to attend in person. Register on Eventbrite to attend online.