Dr. James Urry, Professor of Anthropology at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, is Conrad Grebel University College’s 2006 Bechtel Lecturer. He will address the theme of Time and Memory: secular and sacred aspects of the world of the Russian Mennonites and their descendants on March 9 & 10.
Thursday’s lecture, entitled "Time: the Transcendent and the Worldly," will examine different forms of time in Russian Mennonite communities during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Friday’s lecture, "Memory: Monuments and the Marking of Pasts" will consider how Mennonites in Europe and North America have constructed memorials in remembrance of past events, especially through marking pioneer achievements and various episodes of victimhood and suffering.
Grebel President, Henry Paetkau, said,
Dr. Urry's extensive research on the social organization and communal life of Russian Mennonites makes him uniquely qualified to analyze and reflect on this particular strand of Mennonite history and tradition. I'm thrilled that he's making the long trip from New Zealand to be this year's Bechtel lecturer.
The last time James Urry delivered a series of lectures at Grebel, he enthralled and delighted the full-house audience night after night,
says Professor Hildi Froese Tiessen.
I am very much looking forward to hearing him again. James Urry is unfailingly engaging, witty and stimulating. His subject matter is always substantive and fascinating. Whether the Mennonites agree with his perspectives or disagree, they cannot deny that they are fortunate to have a scholar like Urry probing into the manner in which they have thought about their histories and identities throughout the past century and beyond.
Dr. Urry is well known for his pioneering research on Mennonite life in the Russian colonies. He has lectured and published extensively on various aspects of the Mennonite experience in Russia and the former Soviet Union. More recently, that interest has been expanded to include the Mennonite experience in Canada, particularly Manitoba. Dr. Urry has held research fellowships at the University of Winnipeg and Calgary. His reputation as an engaging lecturer is well established.
The Bechtel Lectures in Anabaptist Mennonite Studies were established in 2000 by Waterloo County businessman and farmer, Lester Bechtel. The purpose of the lectureship is to foster interest in and understanding of Anabaptist/Mennonite faith by seeing it projected through the eyes of experts from a range of disciplines.
Don’t miss Dr. James Urry, the 2006 Bechtel Lecturer, March 9 & 10 in the Conrad Grebel Great Hall at 7:30pm. A reception will follow the lecture on Thursday. For more information, call 519-885-0220 x223.