The 2022 Lester Lecture: "Religious Studies and Reimagining the Human in the Climate Crisis
Dr. David Haberman, Indiana University
And the opening of the new CU Legends exhibit, “Becoming Less: The Journey of Robert Lester"
Event Schedule:
Guided tour of exhibit: 4 p.m.
Reception: 4:30 p.m.
Lecture: 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Center for British and Irish Studies Room
(5th floor, Norlin Library)
David L. Haberman is Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University. A specialist in the Hindu traditions of northern India, his interests include religion as a worldwide phenomenon and vital feature of human experience. His keynote address will focus on the emerging field of Religion and Ecology. Professor Haberman currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Forum on Religion and Ecology based at the Yale University School for Forestry and Environmental Studies.
Becoming Less: The Journey of Robert Lester
Exhibit in Norlin Library | 3rd floor North West Gallery space
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Lester Lecture series and the 50th anniversary of the founding of CU Boulder’s Program in Religious Studies, which went on to become the Department of Religious Studies.
Robert C. Lester was hired in the fall of 1970 to establish a Religious Studies program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Under his direction and guidance, the program he founded became its own department in 1980. Lester was a specialist in Hindu Vaishnava and Southeast Asian Buddhism. He taught at CU for nearly 30 years, during which he served two terms as chair of the department and sagely guided its formation during its first three decades, and profoundly influenced countless students.
Upon his retirement from CU in 1998, the department established an annual lectureship in his honor, the Lester Lecture, which provides a prestigious venue for leading scholars in religious studies to report on current issues in the field.