Clayton Crockett’s book Radical Political Theology: Religion and Politics After Liberalism, has been published by Columbia University Press. This book analyzes the breakdown of a strict line between religious and secular, as demonstrated by the resurgence of religion in philosophy, politics and culture over the past few decades. Rather than taking a conservative or orthodox approach, this book sketches a radical political theology that critiques both religious extremism and political neo-conservativism as insufficient responses to contemporary neo-liberalism and the ravages of corporate capitalism. Crockett is an associate professor and director of Religious Studies.
Students Assist in Mapping Historic Site
Students in Mary Sue Passe-Smith’s Special Problems in Geography spent a weekend last fall assisting the Powhatan Historic State Park (Lawrence County, Arkansas) in mapping the nearby historic Powhatan Cemetery. Their goal was to inventory of what is in the cemetery. They also recorded photographs and names at each of 600 sites.
The students will prepare a brochure with a walking tour of the Powhatan Cemetery which will include short biographies of important persons from the surrounding area who are buried there. Students will be producing a poster of their experiences to be presented at an international Geographic Information Systems conference poster session next summer in San Diego, California.
The final goal is to provide a web link that will allow persons to explore the historic cemetery, click on names and get biographies, photos, and other important information. Corinne Fletcher, administrator of Powhatan State Historic Park, has been instrumental in helping the class perform their task.
Students participating were: Jason Groves, a Geography major, Don Dailey, Environmental Science Geography Planning & Administration (P&A) track; Angie Lewis, Geography; Joseph Potts, Environmental Science, Geography P&A; Hayley Sebourn, Environmental Science Geography P&A; and Jake Lawson (MIS). Service learning classes are an integral part of the College of Liberal Arts’ EDGE program—EDucating for Global Engagement; these classes provide “outside-the-classroom” active learning experiences which help students see how skills learned in the classroom can connect to the real world, to their lives, and to their future professions.