Year of Humanities finishes with events, performances

The Year of the Humanities will come to a close during the remaining weeks of the semester and the concluding events are not to be missed. On the program are a lecture on the Book of Revelation, a panel discussion on the mind and performances of Daoist rituals.

Elaine Pagels, Harrington Spear Paine Foundation Professor of Religion at Princeton University, will deliver the second Chancellor’s Lecture from the Year of the Humanities on Thursday, April 22, 7 p.m. Her talk title is “The Cultural Impact of the Book of Revelation.” A celebrated scholar of early Christianity, Pagels brings fresh perspective to that history. She is best known as the author of “The Gnostic Gospels,” “The Origin of Satan,” and “Adam, Eve and the Serpent.” Her most recent books include the New York Times best-seller “Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas,” and “Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity.” The lecture will be in room L160, Elvehjem Building.

What makes us tick? Perhaps it depends on whom one asks. A panel discussion will explore the topic “What is the Mind?” from the perspective of a philosopher, a psychologist and a cognitive neuroscientist, Thursday, April 29, 7:30 p.m., Memorial Union. Panelists are Elizabeth Spelke, professor of psychology and co-director of the Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative, Harvard University; John Gabrieli, professor of cognitive neuroscience, MIT; John Haugeland, professor of philosophy, University of Chicago; and Larry Shapiro (moderator), professor of philosophy, UW–Madison.

The Zhang Clan from Hunan, China, will explore “Supernatural Presences” in performances that include hymn singing accompanied by flutes, gongs and drums, brandishing swords and burning ritual paper. The performances, the first of their kind in North America, will introduce audiences to Daoist traditions of mainland China. Magic Moves: A First Glimpse of Daoist Ritual will take place Thursday, April 29, 4 p.m. on Library Mall. Inviting the Gods: Daoist Ritual Performance will take place Saturday, May 1, 1 p.m., Union Terrace.