Religion and Oppression March 12, 2009

Tonight I went to a lecture/discussion thing on Religion and Oppression which was really interesting.   There were three panelists, one from the religion department, one from the history department, and one from the English department.  It was really interesting getting each of their perspectives on why people oppress others, how institutions, such as religion, can be oppressive or complicit in it, and how to combat the sense of futility and feelings of never doing enough.  I loved hearing the different perspectives and the different aspects that go into addressing the question, such as philosophies, religions, and history, and how they all work to cause oppression or resistance to it.

After the discussion, Dr. Peterson, the panelist from the religion department and also an IHON teacher this semester, came over to talk to some of the people I was sitting next to, and continued the discussion with us for a while after everyone else had left.  I loved hearing what he had to say; I can tell that he’s very, very smart and knowledgeable about so many things.  It made me really sad that I’m not in his IHON class.  He seems like Dr. Ihssen in his knowledge and ability to engage his students or those who he’s talking to.  He made me want to hear more about what he had to say, on this and other topics.  No one should ever underestimate the importance of having a good teacher- one who encourages you and inspires you to learn…