{"id":4914,"date":"2015-03-05T12:06:21","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T18:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/?p=4914"},"modified":"2015-03-05T12:06:21","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T18:06:21","slug":"upcoming-lecture-to-explore-the-animal-kingdom-in-canadian-mennonite-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/2015\/upcoming-lecture-to-explore-the-animal-kingdom-in-canadian-mennonite-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Upcoming lecture to explore the animal kingdom in Canadian Mennonite history"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Royden Loewen to deliver 2015 John and Margaret Friesen Lecture at CMU<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n

The 2015 edition of the John and Margaret Friesen Lectures at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) will explore how Mennonites have imagined the animal kingdom over the last 150 years.<\/p>\n

Dr. Royden Loewen<\/a>, Chair in Mennonite Studies and Professor of History at the University of Winnipeg, will give a lecture titled, \u201c\u2018Come Watch This Spider\u2019: Animals, Mennonites, and the Modern World,\u201d at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, March 17 in Marpeck Commons (2299 Grant Ave.).<\/p>\n

\"ComeWatchThisSpider\"<\/a>The lecture will focus on the ethical dimensions of animal-human relations among Canadian Mennonites. Often overlooked, their rich literary traditions are filled with references to inter-species relationships. Their diaries, memoirs, and novels suggest a relationship that changed significantly over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is simply a deeper respect that humans had for animals in the pre-industrial times of the late 19<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> and early 20<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> centuries,\u201d Loewen says. \u201cIt\u2019s not that humans were not dominant over animals\u2026 but that dominance was expressed in a different way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That fundamental respect during pre-industrial times was followed by an objectification and commodification of the animal during the mid to late 20<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> century as Mennonites embraced the \u2018modern\u2019 world.<\/span><\/p>\n

By the turn of the 20<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> century, some writers from the edges of Mennonite society began to confront the very idea of animal subjugation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Loewen hopes that those who attend the lecture are challenged to recover a basic respect that people once had for animals.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also hopes that by learning about animals in the history of Canadian Mennonites, a greater understanding of the nature of the modern world can be achieved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, to study animal-human relations is to study human history more fully.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA generation ago, Mennonite historians began writing ordinary people into the narrative \u2013 not just bishops and (other leaders),\u201d Loewen says. \u201cWe did that to write a more inclusive history, so in the name of a more just and inclusive history, we also need to understand the creatures of the earth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Paul Doerksen<\/a>, Associate Professor of Theology and Anabaptist Studies at CMU, says Loewen\u2019s reputation as a world-class scholar made him an obvious choice to deliver the 2015 John and Margaret Friesen Lecture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNobody\u2019s better at social history than Roy,\u201d Doerksen says, adding that as a Mennonite university, it is important for CMU to host Mennonite scholars of Loewen\u2019s calibre.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to have people like Roy here to help us learn and see issues in new ways,\u201d Doerksen says.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his capacity at the University of Winnipeg, Loewen is the editor of the Journal of Mennonite Studies<\/i> and also serves as series editor of the \u201cEthnicity and Culture History Series\u201d at University of Manitoba Press.<\/span><\/p>\n

Loewen has authored or co-authored seven books covering a variety of aspects of Mennonite history. Over the years, he ha<\/span>s been a research fellow and visiting scholar at academic institutions around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

He and his wife, Mary Anne, currently live in Steinbach, MB, where they are members of Steinbach Mennonite Church. They have three adult children: Rebecca, Meg, and Sasha. Loewen and his son operate a small grain farm near Steinbach.<\/span><\/p>\n

The John and Margaret Friesen Lectures in Anabaptist\/Mennonite Studies are co-sponsored by CMU, the Mennonite Heritage Centre, and the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the lecture, selected works by Manitoba artist Lynda Toews will be on display. These works are from \u201cA Place in the Kingdom: Paintings and Stories Celebrating Farm Animals<\/a>,\u201d an exhibit the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery is hosting from March 13, 2015 to June 20, 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

About CMU
\n<\/strong>A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU\u2019s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences and social sciences, and graduate degrees in Theology and Ministry. CMU has over 1,600 students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury campus and in its Menno Simons College and Outtatown programs.<\/em><\/p>\n

For information about CMU, visit\u00a0www.cmu.ca<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

For additional information, please contact:<\/p>\n

Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
\nkkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
\nCanadian Mennonite University
\n500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB\u00a0 R3P 2N2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Royden Loewen to deliver 2015 John and Margaret Friesen Lecture at CMU The 2015 edition of the John and Margaret Friesen Lectures at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) will explore how Mennonites have imagined the animal kingdom over the last 150 years. Dr. Royden Loewen, Chair in Mennonite Studies and Professor of History at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,25,22,5],"tags":[616,556,615],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4914"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4914"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4918,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4914\/revisions\/4918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}