Martha C. Nussbaum

Pickford Film Center & Village Books present "Writers in the Limelight." Join us for the screening of lectures and presentations from some of the most celebrated voices in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Watch author Martha Nussbaum discuss her book, Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, in this special movie showing at the Pickford Limelight Cinema. (Author is not attending this event). We will have a Village Books hosted discussion after the showing.

Drawing on the stories of troubling--and hopeful--educational developments from around the world, Nussbaum offers a manifesto that should be a rallying cry for anyone who cares about the deepest purposes of education. Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics in the Philosophy Department, Law School, and Divinity School at the University of Chicago. She is the author of many books, including Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law.

This on-screen author talk will be showing at the Pickford Film Center's Limelight Cinema. Tickets are $5 and are available at Village Books and through the Pickford Film Center. Village Books will provide books for sale at the event.

Location: Street: 1416 Cornwall Ave. Additional: Pickford Film Center Limelight Cinema City: Bellingham, Province: Washington Postal Code: 98225-7015 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

What impulse prompted some newspapers to attribute the murder of 77 Norwegians to Islamic extremists, until it became evident that a right-wing Norwegian terrorist was the perpetrator? Why did Switzerland, a country of four minarets, vote to ban those structures? How did a proposed Muslim cultural center in lower Manhattan ignite a fevered political debate across the United States? In The new religious intolerance, Martha C. Nussbaum surveys such developments and identifies the fear behind these reactions. Drawing inspiration from philosophy, history, and literature, she suggests a route past this limiting response and toward a more equitable, imaginative, and free society. Fear, Nussbaum writes, is “more narcissistic than other emotions.” Legitimate anxieties become distorted and displaced, driving laws and policies biased against those different from us. Overcoming intolerance requires consistent application of universal principles of respect for conscience. Just as important, it requires greater understanding. Nussbaum challenges us to embrace freedom of religious observance for all, extending to others what we demand for ourselves. She encourages us to expand our capacity for empathetic imagination by cultivating our curiosity, seeking friendship across religious lines, and establishing a consistent ethic of decency and civility. With this greater understanding and respect, Nussbaum argues, we can rise above the politics of fear and toward a more open and inclusive future. The World Beyond the Headlines lecture series is a project of the Center for International Studies. This program is cosponsored by the International House Global Voices Program, the Seminary Co-op Bookstore, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and the South Asia Language & Area Center.

Location: Street: International House Additional: 1414 E. 59th Street City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60637-1507 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Martha C. Nussbaum reads from Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America's Tradition of Religious Equality.

Harvard Book Store is honored to host University of Chicago professor MARTHA NUSSBAUM for a discussion of her latest work, Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America's Tradition of Religious Equality

In one of the great triumphs of the colonial and Revolutionary periods, the founders of the future United States overcame religious intolerance in favor of a constitutional order dedicated to fair treatment for people’s deeply held conscientious beliefs. It granted equal liberty of conscience to all and took a firm stand against religious establishment. This respect for religious difference, acclaimed scholar Nussbaum writes, formed our democracy.

Yet today there are signs that this legacy is misunderstood. The prominence of a particular type of Christianity in our public life suggests the unequal worth of citizens who hold different religious beliefs, or no beliefs. Other people, meanwhile, seek to curtail the influence of religion in public life in a way that is itself unbalanced and unfair. Such partisan efforts, Nussbaum argues, violate the spirit of our Constitution.

Liberty of Conscience is a historical and conceptual study of the American tradition of religious freedom. Weaving together political history, philosophical ideas, and key constitutional cases, this is a rich chronicle of an ideal of equality that has always been central to our history but is now in serious danger. (ablachly)… (more)

Martha Nussbaum discusses Liberty of Conscience.

Time: Tuesday, April 8, 2008 6:00 p.m.
Location: Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610

Liberty of Conscience, the latest work from respected philosopher Martha Nussbaum, argues that America's tradition of religious freedom is predicated on equal respect for all citizens and their beliefs. This ideal, however, is seriously threatened by groups on both side of the religious spectrum who seek, on the one hand, to emphasize one religious understanding at the cost of other belief systems or, on the other, curtail religious influence altogether. It is Nussbaum's contention that these efforts, partisan by their very nature, undermine the value of religious freedom and directly violate the Constitution.

Martha Nussbaum is currently Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, a chair that includes appointments in the Philosophy Department, the Law School, and the Divinity School. She also holds Associate appointments in Classics and Political Science, is a member of the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, and a Board Member of the Human Rights Program. Nussbaum is the author of numerous books, including Cultivating Humanity, Animal Rights, and The Clash Within.

---www.semcoop.booksense.com (bookjones)… (more)