News & Current Events
The Divinity School hosts or cosponsors a wide variety of conferences, lectures, symposia, graduate workshops, and more throughout the academic year. Our website is the best place to find out about our events, or you can sign up to receive our weekly email, "At the Divinity School," by clicking here -- or click the icon to view our events calendar.
Events |
Conferences |
Annual Events |
Weekly Events |
Upcoming Special Events
The Trouble with the Prophets, Prophecy, and Prophetic Literature of the Hebrew Bible
A series of four lectures on the problematic nature of the literary, sociological, and historical categorization of prophecy in ancient Israel. It will explore how the study of Israelite prophecy has developed in recent decades, comparative aspects, gender theory, and origins in magic.
The Mellon Islamic Studies Initiative
The Mellon Islamic Studies Initiative is a three-year project, designed to support the expansion and enhancement of the study of Islam at the University of Chicago. Administered by the Divinity School, the initiative is a cross-divisional collaboration, intended to create a sustained campus conversation about the future of Islamic studies.
The Craft of Teaching series, a quarterly event, brings to campus Divinity School alumni or other accomplished educators in the academic study of religion to offer a seminar centered on one of their course syllabi.
Upcoming Conferences
Annual Ministry Conference
Fair as the Moon, Terrible as an Army: Sexual Beings in Religious Community
Friday, April 19th
8:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. in Swift Hall
Dr. Margaret Farley, Professor Emerita of Yale Divinity School (author of Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics) and Amy Frykholm (author of See Me Naked: Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity), speaking.
Translation of the Hebrew Bible: Philology, Philosophy, and Identity
April 8, 2013
This one-day symposium features a series of three lectures by scholars from outside of the University of Chicago followed in each case by a planned response from a Chicago faculty member and audience questions.
From the time of its canonization, the Hebrew Bible has commanded a pivotal role in the construction of religious, political, and cultural identity, especially through its translation into other languages. In recent years, several works have emerged that have treated this very issue, in sometimes different ways, but all with erudition and creativity. Translation theory itself has developed as well. By bringing together disparate figures working on disparate times, cultural settings, and languages of translation, this symposium aims to contribute new insights into the history of the Hebrew Bible's interpretation, transmission, and influence.
The Cultural Worlds of a Medieval Translator
May 23, 2013
The 800th Anniversary of Samuel Ibn Tibbon's Hebrew translation of Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed
A conference at The Divinity School.
- Conferences and Special Events Archive
- Requesting Sponsorship from the Divinity School and Martin Marty Center: a Conference Organizer's Guide (pdf)
Annual Events
The John Nuveen Lecture was established in 1972 by the Trustees of the Baptist Theological Union, who oversee an endowment that helps to support the University of Chicago Divinity School. Each year, a prominent member of the University's faculty is invited by the BTU and the Divinity School to deliver the lecture.
Each year, a distinguished alumnus/a of the Divinity School is invited to Swift Hall to deliver a public lecture.
Martin Marty Center Senior Fellows Symposia
Senior Fellow Symposia allow Senior Fellows to present their work in a public forum.
Weekly Events
For decades, Wednesday has been a day of community gathering at the Divinity School. Ecumenical services are held at Bond Chapel at 11:30 a.m. that draw on the contributions of students, staff, faculty, and a variety of preachers from Chicago's religious communities, followed at 12:00 noon by a community luncheon in Swift Common Room. The lunches always feature a guest speaker, invited from the University, the local community, or beyond. Lunch topics have addressed everything from the parakeets of Hyde Park to the ecumenical origins of Islam. The programs provide a unique opportunity for students, staff, and faculty to engage one another in informal conversation.
Concurrent with the dates of Wednesday community lunch, a brief worship service is held in Bond Chapel*** from 11:30 am - 12 noon. The service is co-sponsored by the Divinity School and Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, and planned by a student-led worship committee. Students, faculty, and staff serve as preachers. These Wednesday services offer hospitable space and a welcoming community in which to pause, reflect, wonder, and pray. All are welcome.
*** PLEASE NOTE: SERVICES WILL BE HELD IN SWIFT HALL'S THIRD-FLOOR LECTURE HALL until February 7, 2013.
