The Biblical Humanities: Noah's Task

The DePaul Humanities Center

in partnership with

St. Vincent de Paul Parish

present

The Biblical Humanities: Noah’s Task

 

Monday, February 8, 2016

7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Program

8:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Reception

 

St. Vincent de Paul Parish

1010 W. Webster Ave., Chicago

 

What has the Noah story meant historically and what does it mean for us today? Join the DePaul Humanities Center for a live performance of one act from Benjamin Britten’s Opera, “Noye’s Fludde,” with a cast of nearly two-dozen singers and musicians, followed by lectures on Britten’s opera, Noah and the status of animal rights, and the meaning of the story from the perspective of a climate change scientist.

 

Featuring

Robert Beatty, Director of Music, Saint Vincent de Paul Parish, with The Saint Vincent de Paul Chamber Chorale and musicians from the DePaul community in a special live presentation of selections from the opera, “Noye’s Fludde”

 

Joshua Hawkins Nannestad, Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

“Thank God I Have Not Got to Control Them All Myself!”
Benjamin Britten, a few weeks before the premiere of Noye’s Fludde in 1958, was expressing relief that he did not have to conduct his own strikingly distinctive opera.  Composing for a core of professionals surrounded by a throng of children, Britten accomplished a near-impossible task: he created an experience for multiple generations that was at once accessible and challenging, educational and aesthetically satisfying, modern and ancient. A study of Britten’s remarkable craft from fifty years ago offers insights into contemporary challenges regarding children, art music, and the church. Britten’s work may also provide an example to composers and artists; although he was a genius, he developed several habits that ensured his works would be heard in his community. As the number of truly intergenerational experiences in our communities dwindles, a big, messy, and enthusiastic project such as Noye’s Fludde may offer us something that we have been missing.

 

Daniel A. Dombrowski, Professor of Philosophy, Seattle University

“Theism and Nonhuman Animals: A Liberal, Catholic View”
Offering an alternative to the anthropocentric tendency within the Abrahamic religions, Dombrowski offers a reading, inspired by both Noah and St. Francis of Assisi, that will rely on two arguments in favor of nonhuman animal rights: the argument from sentiency and the argument from marginal cases.

 

Mark Potosnak, Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies, DePaul University

“Covenant: What the Flood Narrative of Noah Does and Does Not Reveal About the Christian Perspective on Care for Creation”

After a short overview of how the flood narrative influenced early scientific ideas of the environment, geology, and biodiversity, the biblical foundation of a Christian care for creation will be considered. Potosnak places the flood story into this tradition, with a focus on the role of redemption for our current-day crisis of climate change, ultimately critiquing the notion that the covenant of Noah protects humanity from global environmental problems such as climate change.

 

Wine and cheese reception sponsored by the Saint Vincent de Paul Parish Stewardship Commission.

 

Discounted parking rate available. See Humanities Center staff at event for details. 

Monday, February 8, 2016 at 7:00pm to 9:00pm

St. Vincent de Paul Parish 1010 West Webster Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614

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