Winter and Spring 2025 RS Conversations
The first of our two Winter RS Conversations, led by Professor Thao Nguyen, covered topics of birth, marriage, and food customs in different world religions. Over 25 students and faculty learned about interreligious dialogue, birth practices, and different religious diets like Kosher and Halal during this hour-long conversation, featuring presentations on marriage and food from students in Prof. Nguyen’s Interreligious Seminar.
The second Winter RS Conversation featured renowned author and human rights activist Michael Wilson, alongside co-author and University of Washington professor José Antonio Lucero. Together, they discussed Wilson’s powerful new biography, What Side Are You On? A Tohono O’odham Life Across Borders, a compelling exploration of indigenous identity, resistance, and transborder life. This event, held in collaboration with Professor Bryson White’s class, offered profound insights into the lived experiences of the Tohono O’odham people and the intersection of faith, activism, and cultural survival.
In the Spring, the RS Conversation led by Professors Elyse Raby and Nicholas Hayes-Mota, aimed to expand our understanding of the Catholic Church's leadership traditions by exploring the process of selecting the next pope, evaluating the accuracy of media portrayals such as the movie Conclave, and considering possible candidates for the papacy. This conversation dove into the questions of: How will the next pope be chosen? Is the movie Conclave accurate? Who might be the next pope?