Lectures Explore Religion and Labor, Jesus and Wall Street
The Reverend Dr. Joerg Rieger, Wendland-Cook Professor of Constructive Theology at Southern Methodist University, will present Austin College’s 2016 Allen-Head Lectures on February 16. His first lecture, “Religion and Labor: Beyond Charity and Advocacy to Deep Solidarity,” will be presented with Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger at 11 a.m. at Hoxie Thompson Auditorium in Sherman Hall on campus. The second lecture, “Capitalism and Christianity: What Does Jesus Have to Do with Wall Street?” will be presented at 7 p.m. in Mabee Hall in Wright Campus Center. Both lectures are free and open to the public.
Rieger has taught at Southern Methodist University’s Perkin’s School of Theology since 1994. In fall 2016, he will join the faculty of Vanderbilt University Divinity School. He trained for ministry in German Methodist churches and was ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church in 1997. Since completing his Ph.D. in theology and ethics at Duke University, he has written seven books, more than 100 scholarly articles, and co-written or edited 10 other volumes. His work focuses on resistance to contemporary structures of injustice and struggles for power and domination. In addition to his scholarship, he has long been active in the struggle for workers’ rights, both in the DFW area and nationally.
Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger has been actively working with North Texas Jobs with Justice since 2006 and is now its main organizer, building labor and community coalitions around worker-justice issues in the Dallas area.
The Allen-Head Lecture Series was established by an endowment gift in 1985 in memory and celebration of E.T. Allen Sr. and Mary Bell Anderson Allen; Mr. and Mrs. E.T. Allen Jr.; and Mr. and Mrs. R.B. Head Jr. of Whitesboro, Texas. The lectures feature nationally prominent speakers in the areas of religion, philosophy, psychology, history, and literature.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book College’s That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 36 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates and inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.