The University of Arizona College of Social and Behavioral Science’s Downtown Lecture Series on “Immortality” starts Wednesday.
The annual series is free and features University of Arizona professors from a variety of disciplines exploring the topic of immortality through the lens of their expertise.
“Every year, we pick a theme that has universal appeal and relates to our everyday lives,” John Paul Jones III, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said in a press release.
“In 2013, we featured ‘Happiness’ and, in 2014, ‘Food.’ This year we chose ‘Immortality’ because humans have been grappling with the mysteries of self and soul, of life and afterlife, since ancient times.”
This year’s lecture series features professors ranging in disciplines from philosophy to anthropology. All of these academics investigate immortality in their field of study.
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J. Edward Wright, a professor of Hebrew bible and early Judaism and director of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, has a simple reason why this year’s topic is important.
“It’s important for everyone to think about immortality because we are all going to die,” Wright said. His talk on Wednesday will explore how different religions have imagined heaven and the afterlife and what our notions about immortality tell us about ourselves.
“The stories we tell and the images we create reveal a great deal about our own aspirations and hopes,” Wright said. “By understanding them in a holistic way we can better understand one another.”
As a scholar, Wright has published extensively on the afterlife and wrote a book titled “The Early History of Heaven.” He sees events like the Downtown Lecture Series as important to the Tucson community.
“This is an academic enterprise but it also has a personal impact,” Wright said. “I hope that my scholarship can be a source of inspiration because I believe it has practical applications.”
Wright’s talk, titled “The Histories and Mysteries of Heaven,” is the first in the series. A new lecture on the topic of immortality will take place every Wednesday through Nov. 11.
Archaeologist Mary Stiner delivers the second talk on Oct. 21. Stiner said immortality “is a universal interest which raises questions about where it comes from and how is it that makes us human.”
Stiner, a professor of anthropology, explores the origins of humanity. Her talk focuses on the history of death and burial, dating to the Stone Age. Stiner said she hopes her talk will help us understand our place in the natural world.
Patrick O’Connor is a NASA Space Grant undergraduate research scholar.
