2023 Sawatsky Lecturer to Explore Intersections of Disability and Religion
Every year, Conrad Grebel University College invites an esteemed scholar, practitioner, or performer to give the Rodney and Lorna Sawatsky Visiting Scholar lecture. This tradition of celebrating scholarly excellence was established in honour of the Sawatskys’ involvement at Grebel and Rodney’s role as Dean and President.
Continuing the tradition, Dr. Darla Schumm will give the 2023 Sawatsky Visiting Scholar Lecture. Schumm is an author and associate provost and professor of religious studies at Hollins University in Virginia and is a leading scholar on the topic of disability and religion. She holds a BA in interdisciplinary studies from Goshen College in Indiana, an MA in social ethics from the Pacific School of Religion in California, and a PhD in religion, ethics, and society from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Her current research explores intersections of religious and disability studies. She is the coeditor of the textbook Disability and World Religions: An Introduction as well as several other publications in the field.
Dr. Schumm’s lecture will speak on “The Power of Misfitting: Disrupting Sinner, Saint, and Super Crip Controlling Images.” Pulling from theories outlined by Patricia Hill Collins, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, and others, she will identify the mechanisms in today's religious communities that systemically designate disabled people as inferior. Schumm will raise the concept of power that comes with misfitting and redefine preconceived notions.
“We are excited for the way that Darla Schumm’s research on the experience of people with disabilities in religious groups will shed new light on the understudied intersection of religious studies and disability studies,” explained Grebel Dean Troy Osborne. “Her presentation will help us think more carefully about how we form our own work and worshipping communities.”
In addition to the lecture in the Grebel Great Hall, Dr. Schumm will be a guest speaker during Chapel. She will also speak at a Faculty Forum on Friday, February 3, at 12:30pm in CGR-2201 and be a guest lecturer in several classes.
Join the Grebel community in listening to Dr. Darla Schumm’s Sawatsky Lecture on Thursday, February 2, at 7:30 pm in the Great Hall. To attend the lecture and the reception that will follow, register in advance. If you are interested but are unable to attend the in-person event, it will be livestreamed. Indicate this in the registration form to receive a link.
“The Power of Misfitting: Disrupting Sinner, Saint, and Super Crip Controlling Images.”
Dr. Darla Schumm
2023 Rodney and Lorna Sawatsky Lecture
Thursday, February 2, 7:30pm
Grebel Great Hall (CGR-1111)
140 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, ON
Register now