BLACK THEOLOGY CONFERENCE

BLACK THEOLOGY CONFERENCE AT THE QUEEN’S FOUNDATION
FRIDAY 24th AND SATURDAY 25th JULY 2009


BEING HUMAN:
A Black Theology exploration of what it means to be a person in a Black skin

The aim of this conference is to explore what it means to be a Black human being. How do we interpret, theologically, the meaning of being born into a Black skin? Black theologians have long wrestled with the meaning of Blackness and what it means to be a Black human being. The continuum of Black theological thought runs from essentialised forms of Black Christian nationalism from the likes of Marcus Garvey and later, Albert Cleage, through anti-essentialist and postmodern critiques emanating from the likes of Victor Anderson and Anthony Pinn. For some, we can only understand our humanity by means of our Blackness, for others, Blackness is a second order category that supplements the more universal attributes for understanding what it means to be human. The latest thinking on this issue, in the context of Black theology, is perhaps to be found in Dwight Hopkins Being Human: Race, Culture and Religion (Minneapolis: Fortress press, 2005). But he is African American – so what is our take on this!

The framework for the conference will be similar to last year, in that we will be featuring 5 papers over the two days. By having only 5 papers, presenters will have ample time (45 minutes) to talk to their work. This will be followed by an equal amount of time for creative and challenging conversation from conference participants.


This is very short notice, as bookings should ideally be made today. There is still time if you visit Black Theology Conference at Queen's Foundation where you will find details of the programme.

Source: Methodist News Service 20/07/09