Seminar
Descriptions
(All seminars are free, but we’d like you to register
for
them so we can plan for enough seating for each session.
To make
a reservation please contact:
Kathy Miller, (616) 395-7860,
kmiller@hope.edu)
A Friendly Letter to Skeptics
and Atheists:
Musings on Why God is Good and Faith Isn’t Evil
Dr. David G. Myers
9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Recent “new atheist” best-sellers share a common assertion:
that religion—all religions—are “dangerous” (as
well as false). With his new book, which this talk will summarize,
Dr. Myers aims to bridge the skeptical/believer dichotomy and to suggest
how faith can be reasonable, science-affirming, healthy, hopeful, and
humane.
“Social psychologist Myers adds to the numerous
apologetic texts that have emerged since the neoatheist movement began. But
this quick jaunt into potentially dangerous waters is head and shoulders above
the rest.”
—Publishers Weekly
Dr. David Myers has spent the last 42 years professing psychology at Hope.
After a decade of NSF-supported experimental studies of group influence, he
became a communicator of psychological science through his scientific writings,
magazine articles, op-ed essays, and sixteen books, including the just-published
Psychology, 9th edition and the forthcoming Social Psychology, 10th edition.
His recent avocational passion is the nationwide promotion of hearing aid compatible
assistive listening (see hearingloop.org).
Voice
Teaching in the 21st Century:
Simultaneous Visual Imaging and Acoustical Feedback for a Centuries-old
Art
Professor Linda LeFever Dykstra
9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Unlike instrumentalists who can see the difference that fingerings and hand/bow
positions make, singers are at a distinct disadvantage in terms of being able
to see production problems; furthermore, what the singer hears is not what
the listener hears. Using software programs that allow for acoustical analysis
allows visual feedback in an aural discipline; being able to see one’s
self while simultaneously viewing acoustical analysis allows the singer to
see what the listener is seeing and hearing. Using students and members of
the audience, Professor Dykstra will demonstrate the use of technology as a
voice teaching tool, as well as its use in the diagnosis and treatment of vocal
disorders.
Professor Linda LeFever Dykstra, lyric soprano, has performed as a recitalist
and oratorio soloist in the United States and Europe. Now in her twelfth year
of teaching at Hope, she is chair of the voice division and teaches Applied
Voice, English/Italian and German Diction and the Musical Theatre Workshop.
She has done post graduate work and a clinical internship in vocology, the
diagnosis and treatment of vocal disorders in singers. She now consults with
ENT specialists and works with singers with injured voices. In 1997 she received
the Rosa Ponselle Foundation’s Voice Teacher of the Year Gold Medallion.
How Can We Be Christians in Our Economic Life?
Dr. Robin Klay and Dr. Victor V. Claar
9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
How can Christians bring their faith and values into the public sphere as workers
and employers, savers and consumers, citizens and leaders? This critical question
became the genesis of their book, Economics in Christian Perspective: Theory,
Policy and Life Choices. The economic way of thinking is a necessary guide
for us to address real problems—not just feel good about “doing
something.” For example, the insights and findings of economics can help
us choose wisely in our efforts to assist poor people. What form should help
take to make the greatest difference? What are the causes of their poverty?
Which poor people are we in a position to help—next door or around the
world? This talk should leave you with a desire to dig more deeply into such
questions—as families, churches, and citizens.
Dr. Robin Klay has taught economics at Hope since 1979. Her greatest interests
are in Third World development and international economics. She leads a unique
internship program for Hope students every May-June to Oaxaca, Mexico, called
Hope Blooms.
Dr. Victor V. Claar is associate professor of economics, arriving in 2000. He
spent 2006-07 as a Fulbright Scholar at the American University of Armenia, giving
lectures to master’s students in both business and political science. His
articles appear in many peer-reviewed journals. He is currently writing a new
book about fair trade.
Childhood Obesity - A Move for Action
Dr. Steven Smith and Dr. Mark Northuis ’82
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Dr. Steven Smith and Dr. Mark Northuis have been studying pre-adolescent growth
trends in the greater Holland area since 1994. Based on their research, this
seminar highlights the dramatic increase in the incidence and prevalence of
obesity in preadolescent children in the United States and other developing
countries and provides effective strategies that impact this complex problem.
Dr. Steven Smith, professor of kinesiology and men’s soccer coach, is in
his 19th year at Hope. He holds a doctorate in motor development from Michigan
State University. His research interests include motor performance of children
in schools as well as pre-adolescent childhood obesity. He has published a book
and video on physical education for home-schooled children and is currently working
on a book for family-centered fitness.
Dr. Mark Northuis serves as chair and professor for the department kinesiology
and coaches the men’s and women’s cross country teams. He teaches
and conducts student-faculty collaborative research in the exercise science
program. He earned his doctorate from the University of Minnesota and began
teaching and coaching at Hope in 1988.
Does Anybody Feel At Home?:
The Many Faces of Homelessness
in a Culture of Displacement
Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger ’79
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Those who run homeless shelters report that more people are living on the street:
socio-economic homelessness is on the rise. Australian colleagues report that
because of the changing landscape due to prolonged drought, many Aussies no
longer feel at home in their homeland: ecological homelessness is on the rise.
And many in North America report a growing sense of meaninglessness and restlessness
despite having a house over their heads: postmodern homelessness is on the
rise. What is going on? Why are so many feeling homeless? And what does faith
have to do with it?
Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger, professor of religion and chair of the department,
has taught at Hope since 1994. A graduate of Hope, his Ph.D. is in religious
studies from The University of Chicago. His book For the Beauty of the Earth:
A Christian Vision for Creation Care, received an Award of Merit from Christianity
Today as one of the books of the year for 2001. His most recent book, co-authored
with Brian Walsh, is Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in an Age of Displacement.
He has won numerous teaching awards, including being selected the 1999 Hope Outstanding
Professor-Educator.
What’s My Ecological Footprint?
Dr.
K. Greg Murray
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
An ecological footprint is a way of measuring one’s impact on the natural
world, in terms of the land area needed to produce the resources we use and
absorb the wastes (including CO2) that we make. Instead of asking ‘How
many people can the earth support?’, footprinting asks ‘How much
land do people require to support themselves?’ In this interactive workshop
we’ll explore the consequences of the choices we make (e.g., the kind
of car we drive, the size of our house or apartment, and even whether we eat
fresh fruit in winter) for the size of our ecological footprint, concentrating
on those choices that affect carbon emissions.
Dr. K. Greg Murray is a tropical ecologist and conservation biologist. He and
his wife, Dr. Kathy Winnett-Murray, joined the biology department faculty in
1986 after completing their doctoral studies at the University of Florida. In
addition to his teaching and research activities, Dr. Murray has been involved
in several regional and local environmental groups, from the West Michigan Environmental
Action Council to Hope College’s Campus Sustainability Task Force.
For additional information please contact: Lynne Powe ’86,
(616) 395-7860, powe@hope.edu
