The Saint Benedict Institute will host Dr. Abigail Favale of George Fox University to deliver the address “The Genesis of Gender: Christian and Feminist Perspectives on Sex and Gender” on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. at Hope College in Winants Auditorium in Graves Hall.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Due to Hope College’s COVID precautions, masks are required indoors on campus for all individuals who are vaccinated or unvaccinated. A video recording of the event will be made available online afterward on the Saint Benedict Institute website.
What is gender, and how has that word come to take on so many conflicting and controversial meanings in our contemporary moment? In this lecture, Dr. Abigail Favale will trace the development of the concept of gender, analyze the worldview behind it, and compare that worldview with a Christian understanding of reality, human identity, and sexual difference.
Abigail Favale, Ph.D., is Dean of Humanities and Professor of English at George Fox University. Her award-winning work has appeared in The Atlantic, First Things, Church Life, and various literary and academic journals. Her memoir, “Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion,” was published in 2018, and her latest book, “The Genesis of Gender,” will be released by Ignatius Press in early 2022. She lives in Oregon with her husband and four children.
Campus co-sponsors of the event include the college’s departments of history, philosophy, political science and religion, and sociology and social work; Women’s and Gender Studies program; Center for Ministry Studies; Cultural Affairs Committee; and Hope Catholics and Markets & Morality student organizations.
The Saint Benedict Institute is a ministry of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Holland. It seeks to promote and nurture intellectual work done from the heart of the Catholic Church, to foster an ecumenical community of Catholic Christians and friends committed to the renewal of culture, and to aid in the formation of intellectually and spiritually mature Christians by making available the riches of the Catholic tradition to Hope College and the wider community. More information can be found at saintbenedictinstitute.org.
Audience members who need assistance to fully enjoy any event at Hope are encouraged to contact the college’s Events and Conferences Office by emailing events@hope.edu or calling 616-395-7222 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Updates related to events are posted when available in the individual listings at hope.edu/calendar
Graves Hall is located at 263 College Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.