Religious Studies: News & Events - The University of Iowa

Spring 2006 News

Death of Emeritus Professor Boyle

The Reverend John P. Boyle, a longtime member of the Department of Religious Studies at The University of Iowa, passed away on 23 February 2006 at St. Patrick’s Residence in Naperville, Illinois following an extended illness. He was 74 years old. Father Boyle joined what was then the School of Religion in 1972 and taught Catholic theology and ethics until his retirement in 1998. He also served as director of the School from 1979 to 1989. Born in Iowa City on 23 August 1931, Father Boyle studied for his undergraduate degree at St. Ambrose University and later received a doctorate in theology from Fordham University. Among his many publications, perhaps the best know is The Sterilization Issue: A New Crisis for the Catholic Hospital? (New York, 1977). In addition to his teaching and scholarship, Father Boyle was an active member of the Catholic pastorate, having been ordained at the North American College in Rome on 16 December 1956. John Boyle will be missed by his family and friends, many students and admiring colleagues. Memorials may be directed to The University of Iowa Foundation, 500 LUCA, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, in support of the Figge Chair in Catholic Studies (30-143-029) or the John P. Boyle Award in Catholic Studies (30-143-028).

Upcoming Colloquium

Professor Joseph Prabhu, Department of Philosophy, California State University at Los Angeles, will be here on Monday, March 27, 12:30-2:00 on the third floor of Gilmore Hall for a colloquium titled "Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspective." Professor Prabhu has been teaching at CSLA since 1978, although he has also in that time been a visiting professor at UC Berkeley, Harvard, Occidental College, Boston University and universities in India and Germany. His interests are quite broad, spanning metaphysics and ethics to comparative religion and social and political theory. He has published three books, “The Intercultural Challenge of Raimon Panikkar,” “Indian Ethics: Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges,” and “Indian Ethics: Justice, Law, and Applied Ethics.” His interests are in bringing philosophical and spiritual perspectives to bear on ethical and political issues. For a copy of his paper he will be discussing, click here.

Faculty News

Professor Ralph Keen will teach a one-week seminar this summer for the International Programs Summer Institute for Teachers. The seminar is entitled "Religion and Conflict in Contemporary Europe." The seminar will provide K-12 educators with an overview of the tension between religious and political identities in present-day Europe. The date of the seminar is June 12-16 and is offered through the Center for Credit Programs.

Undergraduate News

The Alpha of Iowa chapter is pleased to announce that Religious Studies student, Samuel Plott, has been invited to accept membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Tajh' Short for receiving statewide recognition for her honors project in Religious Studies. She is one of ten students from the University of Iowa who was selected to present at Research in the Capitol on February 28, 2006. The University of Iowa students were joined by students from UNI and ISU in presenting research in the rotunda of the state capitol in Des Moines.

Recent Article Published by Religious Studies Graduate Student

Pankaj Jain published "Householders and Renouncers: The Holistic Combination in Indian Thought," which is in Studies in Vedanta: Essays in Honor of Professor S. S. Rama Rao Pappu, 2006.