Anthony Mansueto

Web Page: http://www.seekingwisdom.com

Email [email protected],  [email protected] 

 

 

EDUCATION

 

Ph.D., Religion, Ethics, and Society, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, 1985

M.A., Religion, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1979

B.A., Humanities, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1977

 

Languages: English (native), Spanish, French, and Italian (excellent reading, good speaking and fair writing), Biblical Hebrew and Greek (basic reading), Russian and Chinese (studying)

 

PRINCIPAL ACHEIVEMENTS

 

Research: Conducted cutting edge research, resulting in the publication of four books, 10 articles in refereed journals, and numerous articles in journals of public opinion which 1) reground rational metaphysics and natural law ethics in response to modern and postmodern critiques and in dialogue with recent developments in the physical, biological, and social sciences and with humanity’s principal wisdom (philosophical and religious) traditions and 2) retheorize the role of religion in the public arena historically and in the present period.

 

Public Humanities:

 

v    Developed a program of public dialogues in a diverse “global suburb” aimed at restructuring public discourse to include deliberation around ends as well as means, and to engage the full range of civilizational traditions represented in the region.

v    Made a branch college in a remote location into a center for inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and a model for a new kind of public arena: democratic and pluralistic but also value based and constituted by dialogue around fundamental questions of meaning and value.

 

Teaching:

 

v    Developed a faculty seminar which engaged professors from diverse disciplines in exploring the nature of and competing approaches liberal arts education in the light of such developments as globalization, fundamentalism, and other current trends.

v    Developed and implemented innovative and effective strategies centered around the use of civic engagement for making liberal arts education both more rigorous and more accessible to students from working class and ethnic minority communities.

v    Developed a unique approach to liberal arts education which links the medieval quaestio method with explorations of classical and contemporary scholarly texts, analysis of the social contexts out of which fundamental questions and the answers to them emerge, and attention to the practical implications of those answers,

v    Developed international assessment standards in World Religions for the International Baccalaureate Organization,

v    Developed unique program for training grassroots leaders in methods of social analysis, social ethics, political strategy, and basic organizing skills.

 

Publishing: Built Seeking Wisdom, an award winning international electronic journal of philosophy, religion, and politics dedicated to combating the nihilism, despair and injustice of our time and to charting the next steps in the human civilizational project.

 

Organizing and Public Policy: Built sponsoring committee of 50 member congregations for an interfaith organizing effort and raised over $625,000 to support social justice efforts in a conservative diocese and led winning citywide issue campaigns on charter reform and metropolitan participation in statewide campaigns resulting in vote totals 5% above the (winning) state average.

 

Administration and Management:

 

v    Served as a Dean, Department Chair, and Program Director, and lead academic units of 36 full time and roughly 90 adjunct faculty (70 FTE), managed budgets of roughly $3 million and schedules of 350 courses per semester; significantly expanded and improved both the academic quality and diversity of the adjunct faculty pool, and played a major role in deliberation around liberal arts curricula and in developing new academic programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

v    Built an independent research, education, and organizing institute with an international board of senior scholars which publishes an international electronic journal of philosophy, religion, and politics, develops public humanities and community based liberal arts and political education programs, and provides research and leadership development services to nongovernmental organizations at both the local and international levels.

 

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

 

Regular Administrative and Faculty Appointments

 

Dean, Communications and Humanities, Spring Creek Campus, Collin County Community College, August 2006 – present.

Chair, Department of Social Sciences, University of New Mexico - Gallup, July 2005 – July 2006.

Associate Professor, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Western Civilization, University of New MexicoGallup, July 2006

Assistant Professor, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Western Civilization, University of New MexicoGallup, August 2001 – June 2006.

Academic Dean, St. Joseph Seminary, Chicago, Illinois, January – September 1999. (Terminated due to theological differences with the Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago).

Profesor (Titular B) de la Sociología de las religions, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, 1996 - 1997. (Sociología de las religions).

Program Director and Assistant Professor, Philosophy, Calumet College of St. Joseph, Whiting, Indiana, 1995-1996 (Philosophy).

 

Visiting, External, and Adjunct Faculty Appointments

 

Dallas County Community Colleges, St. Joseph Seminary, Mundelein Seminary, William Rainey Harper College, El Paso Community College, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Santa Fe Community College, College of Santa Fe, University of Dallas, University of Pittsburgh, Carlow College, Robert Morris College, the Community College of Allegheny County, and the Graduate Theological Union, 1984-2001

 

 

Research Staff Positions

 

Research Associate, Office of Social Science Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1993-1994.

Research Assistant/Lead Interviewer, Italians in Chicago Oral History Project, Department of History, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1979-1980.

 

Public Humanities and Public Policy

 

President, Seeking Wisdom, July 1991-present, often concurrently with other positions

Director, Justice and Peace Commission, Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, 1988-1991

 

 

TEACHING

 

Teaching Style:

 

v    I use the quaestio method, focusing students on fundamental questions, exposing them to competing theoretical perspectives, and challenging them to take and defend independent positions in the context of the ongoing debate.

v    I stress the social contexts out of which philosophical, theological, and sociological ideas emerge and their practical (political or pastoral) implications.

v    I use classic texts and contemporary scholarly articles, never textbooks.

v    My courses are reading, writing, and debate intensive.

v    I use civic engagement and other forms experiential learning to create a basis in experience and a context for rigorous training in the liberal arts.

 

Areas of Specialization:

Philosophy: Philosophy of Religion, Comparative Metaphysics, Ethical Theory, Social Ethics, Epistemology, Philosophy of Nature, Philosophy of History

Religious Studies:  Religion and Society, Religion and Culture, Religion and Politics, Religion and Science

 

Areas of Competence: I have taught the following courses at colleges and universities: 

 

Philosophy: Introduction to Philosophy, Philosophy of Nature/God and the New Cosmology, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of God, Contemporary Philosophy, Ethics, Social Ethics, Bioethics, Philosophy of Education

Religious Studies: Comparative Religion, Western Religions, Eastern Religions, Religion and Society/Sociology of Religion, Religion and Politics, Social Ethics, Roman Catholic Social Teaching, Religion and Ethnicity, Religion in the Americas

History: World/Western Civilization, U.S. History

Sociology: Introduction to Sociology, Social Theory, Sociology of Religion, Research Methods, Social Psychology, Culture and Values: Latin America and Marxism, Sociology of the Family

Honors Seminars: Ancient Legacy, Medieval Legacy, Silk Roads and Silicon Superhighways: Religion, Conquest and Trade in the Human Civilizational Project, Emerging from the Matrix: Responses to Modernity in Philosophy, Social Theory, and the Arts

 

I also have many years experience teaching in community based settings and have developed a sequence of courses designed to train grassroots leaders in Methods of Social Analysis, Philosophical and Theological Reflection, Political Strategy, and Basic Organizing Skills

 

 

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS

 

Research Interests: My research is centered in the following areas:

 

v      Regrounding rational metaphysics and natural law ethics in the light of modern and postmodern critiques, and in dialogue with recent developments in the physical, biological and social sciences and with humanity’s principal wisdom (philosophical and religious) traditions,

 

v      Theoretical and comparative/comparative historical study of religion and politics, especially critiques of secularization theory and studies of the religious legitimation of political authority, and

 

v      Strategic studies directed at understanding the role of religion, ideology, and culture in political strategy.

 

 

Books

 

Published

 

Spirituality and Dialectics Lexington Press, 2005 (with Maggie Mansueto): a critique of postmodernism showing how, by undermining the metaphysical foundations for moral judgment, it helps to legitimate the market order; sketches arguments for epistemological realism, cosmic teleology, a dialectical metaphysics of Esse, and a radically historicized natural law ethics, and shows how dialectics forms a necessary preparation for the spiritual life in a market society.

 

Knowing God: Restoring Reason in an Age of Doubt: Ashgate Publishers, 2002. Reconciles epistemological and metaphysical realism with recognition of social context in shaping what and how we know, bringing an Aristotelian theory of knowledge into dialogue with cognitive development theory and the sociology of knowledge. The book focuses on religious knowledge and concludes with a “guide for the perplexed” intended to help overcome nihilism and despair.

 

Religion and Dialectics, University Press of America, 2002: An answer to Marx’s critique of religion, Religion and Dialectics argues that religion plays a critical leading role in human development and civilizational project, while specifying the roots of religious alienation within the Christian tradition.

 

Towards Synergism: The Cosmic Significance of the Human Civilizational Project, University Press of America, 1995. A response to neoliberal triumphalism and postmodern pessimism, Towards Synergism defends the ultimate meaningfulness of human history and develops a new theory of human social development which recognizes the role of material conditions, social structure, and conscious ideological factors.

 

 

Completed/Under Review

 

Knowing God: The Ultimate Meaningfulness of the Universe, answers arguments emerging from mathematical physics which question the ultimate meaningfulness of the universe. The book mounts a critique of mathematical physics and makes an argument for a teleological research program for the sciences, for cosmic teleology and for the existence of God.  Under review.

 

Knowing God: Doing Justice, argues (on the basis of the dialectical metaphysics elaborated in earlier works) for a radically historicized natural law ethics.

 

God is an Apricot Tree, a first novel, written in a broadly magical realist style, wrestles with the fundamental issue at the heart of modernity –the relationship between knowledge and power—and with the related question of the struggle for justice and with the ambiguous effects of that struggle on those who pursue it. Under review.

 

In Progress

 

Knowing God: The Journey of the Dialectic mounts a defense of the dialectical metaphysics of Esse against postmodernist critiques which blame it for the ills of modernity, while bringing dialectics into dialogue with the planet’s other wisdom traditions, both religious and philosophical. The book joins the new discipline of the sociology of philosophy with substantive metaphysical argument.

 

Emerging from the Matrix: Spirituality and Politics in an Era of Global Crisis mounts a critique of the dominant “end of history” and “clash of civilization” theses and argues that humanity is entering a period of civilizational crisis in which people no longer uphold the modern ideal (understanding how the universe works in order to subject it to rational human control) but have not yet embraced another. It argues for a vision of the future grounded in the philosophical system articulated in the Knowing God series and proposes a strategy for realizing that vision.

 

Future Plans

 

Knowing God: Logos and Sophia: a response to linguistic (analytical and structuralist/poststructuralist) critiques of metaphysics

 

The Human Civilizational Project: An interdisciplinary introduction to global humanities and civilization studies

 

Knowing God: The Ways of Wisdom: a world theology

 

The Alchemists Kitchen: Religion, Science, and Food in Comparative Historical Perspective

 

The Popular Wisdom Research Project is an in-depth interview project exploring the ways in which ordinary people approach fundamental questions of meaning and value, and how these shape and are shaped by the social context in which they live. Contingent on funding.

 

Dissertation

 

Blessed Are the Meek, for they Shall Inherit the Earth: Popular Religion and Political Consciousness in the Italian American Community, Ph.D. dissertation, Graduate Theological Union, 1985. Complete/unpublished. Dissertation committee included Robert Bellah, Clare Fischer, and Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum.

 

 

Articles

 

Published in Refereed Journals and Books

 

“The Political Significance of the Papacy, Historically and in the Present Period,” in Journal of Religion and Society 7.

 

“The Journey of the Dialectic,” Fealsunacht: An Irish Journal of Philosophy 1, December 2000

 

"Organization in the Universe," in The Evolution of Complexity, eds. F.  Heylighen, J. Bollen, J, and A. Riegler, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 1999; pp. 59-88

 

"From Hermeneutical Circle to Dialectical Spiral: Philosophy and Ideological Criticism," Culture and Power, (Tver, Russian Federation: Tver State University), Spring 1999; pp. 25-33

 

"Organization, Teleology, and Value," Journal of Religion, January 1997, pp. 68-86

 

"From Dialectic to Organization: Bogdanov's Contribution to Social Theory," Studies in East European Thought 48:1, March 1996, pp. 37-61

 

"Beyond Postmodernism: The Contributions of Anthropic Cosmology and Complex Systems Theory to the Social Sciences," Filosofskie nauki (Philosophical Sciences), Moscow, Spring 1994; pp. 45-73 (also published as a "lecture," i.e. a required reading, at Tver State University)

 

"The Current Situation in the European Countries of the Former Soviet Bloc,” in Russia and the West: A Dialogue of Cultures. Tver, Russian Federation: Tver State University, 1994; pp. 33-39 (Also published in Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 1:4; pp 15-38, and as a "lecture" i.e. a required reading, at Tver State University)

 

"Religion, Solidarity and Class Struggle: Marx, Durkheim, and Gramsci on the Religious Question," Social Compass XXXV/2‑3 1988; pp 261-277. (Reprinted with a critique in Occasional Letters, Calcutta)

 

"Blessed Are the Meek...: Religion and Socialism in the Italian American Community," Proceedings of the American Italian Historical Association, 1985. 

 

 

Published in Journals of Public Opinion

 

“A Question Centered Approach to Liberal Arts Education,” Journal of Liberal Education, October 2006

 

“Understanding America,” in Seeking Wisdom 3, Spring 2006

 

“Why the New Pope Isn‘t Catholic –and Why I Still Am,” Tikkun, July-August 2005

 

“Religion and Political Strategy in an Era of Civilizational Crisis,” in Seeking Wisdom 2, May 2005

 

“Centralizing Higher Education a Mistake,” in Albuquerque Journal, 15 November 2005

 

“Seeking Wisdom and Doing Justice: Restoring the Spiritual Dimension to Dialectical Sociology and Politics,” Seeking Wisdom 1, May 2003

 

“Combat Nihilism and Unite the Forces of Meaning and Hope, or How We Should Respond to September 11,” a special report of The Seeking Wisdom Project, August 2002

 

“The World From Below: A View from the United States,” a special report on the effects of market-driven globalization in the United States, prepared for the World Forum for Alternatives.

 

“Leadership and Democracy in a Postmarket Society,” Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society, 14, Autumn 2001

 

“What Can You Do to Change the World?” Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 13, Autumn 2000 (with Mary M. Mansueto)

 

"In Defense of Metaphysics," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 12, Spring 1999, pp. 13-50

 

"Against Philosophical Appeasement," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 11, Winter 1998; pp. 26-42 (with Mary M. Mansueto)

 

"Organizing for Synergism," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 10, Winter 1997; pp. 16-42

 

"The Current Crisis in the Catholic Church," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 9, Winter 1996; pp. 13-32

 

"Organizing for Family and Congregation? A Critique of the Political-Theological Vision and Strategy of the Industrial Areas Foundation," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 8, Summer 1995; pp. 27-40

 

"Psalm," (poem), Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 8, Summer 1995; p. 44

 

"In These Dark Times...," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 7, Winter 1995; pp. 25-48

 

"Visions of Cosmopolis: The Religious Dimensions of the UFO Phenomenon," OMNI, October 1994; pp. 64-69, 110

 

"The Cosmohistorical Vision of Ernesto Cardenal," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 2:2, Summer 1994; pp. 9-15 (also published in Spanish translation in Nuevo Amanecer Cultural, 1 April 1995)

 

"Towards Synergism: A Personal Journey," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 2:2, Summer 1994; pp. 32-48

 

"The Next Steps in the Human Civilizational Project,” Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 2:1, Winter 1994; 14-46

 

"The Current Situation in the European Countries of the Former Soviet Bloc,” in Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 1:4; pp 15-38

 

"The Contributions of Complex Systems Theory to Ethics," Proceedings of the Third Annual Conference of the Chaos Network, September 1993; pp. 271-276

 

“Organizing Complexity,” Proceedings of the Third Annual Conference of the Chaos Network, September 1993; pp. 98-104

 

"The Crisis of Neoliberalism and the Emergence of a Progressive-Institutionalist Bloc," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 1:3, Autumn 1992; pp. 6-41

 

"Synergism: The Transition to a Postindustrial, Postmarket Society," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 1:2, Summer 1992; pp. 11-44

 

"The Industrial Areas Foundation: A Preliminary Analysis of its Social Base and Political Valence," Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society 1:1, Spring 1992; pp. 11-32

 

"The Role of Religion in the Socialist Transition,” North Star Review 3, Spring 1990

 

Book Review

 

Hertzke, Allen. Echoes of Discontent: Jesse Jackson, Pat Robertson, and the Resurgence of Populism. Washington DC, Congressional Quarterly Press; review in Review of Religious Research

 

 

 

Papers Presented to Scholarly Organizations

 

 

Invited Papers and Public Lectures

 

“Only Metaphysics Can Save Theology,” invited lecture at the University of Dallas, planned for 11 April 2007.

 

“Regrounding Ethics: Aquinas, Marx and our Tasks in the Present Period,” a five-day long Invited Lecture and Seminar, Department of Scholastic Philosophy, Queens University Belfast, June 2000.

 

"Spirituality and Dialectics," Academic Convocation Lecture, St. Joseph Seminary, Chicago, September 1999

 

"Towards a Synergistic Sociology of Development," Paper presented to the Department of Sociology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and November 1992

 

 

Contributed Papers

 

“The Ways of Wisdom: Towards a World Theology,” paper presented at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Dallas, 4 March, 2007

 

“Religion, Pluralism, and Democracy: A Natural Law Approach,” paper presented at at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Dallas, 4 March, 2007

 

“Civilizations, Mode of Production, and World System: The Significance of Macrosociological Categories for our Understanding of the Current Situation,” paper presented at the International Symposium on Civilizations and World Orders, Istanbul, Turkey, May 2006.

 

“Religion in an Age of Civilizational Crisis,” paper presented  to the Conference on Unity and Diversity in Religion and Culture sponsored by the UNESCO Chair on Comparative Studies of Spiritual Traditions, Seattle, January 2005

 

“The Art of Politics: Teaching Students to Build and Exercise Power in Service to the Common Good,” workshop organized at the Campus Compact National Center for Community College's 12th National Conference, Reaching the Summit for Civic Commitment, Phoenix, Arizona, May 2003

 

“Cosmic Teleology and the Existence of God,” Paper presented at the International Interdisciplinary Conference on Science and Religion, sponsored by the Society for Indian Philosophy and Religion and Dominican University, San Rafael, California, October 2002

 

“The Liberal Arts Mission of Community College,” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the New Mexico Association of Community Colleges,” Taos, New Mexico, May 2002

 

“Why the Mind’s Road to God Must Pass Through Cosmology,” Paper presented to the Gifford Bequest International Conference on “Natural Theology: Problems and Prospects,” Aberdeen Scotland, May 2000

 

"Intellectual Formation for Pastoral Leadership in the Present Period," Paper presented to the faculty of St. Joseph Seminary, Chicago, August 1999

 

"Journey of the Dialectic," Paper presented to the XX World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, August 1998

 

"Cosmic Teleology and the Crisis of the Sciences," Paper presented to the XX World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, August 1998

 

"Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society," Paper presented to the Symposium on the Evolution of Complexity, held as part of the interdisciplinary conference "Einstein Meets Magritte" at the Vrije Universitet Brussel, Brussels, Belgium, May 1995

 

"Organization, Teleology, and Value,” Paper presented to the International Society for Universalism, Boston, Massachusetts, December 1994

 

"The Contributions of Complex Systems Theory to Ethics," Paper presented to the Chaos Network Conference, St. Paul, Minnesota, September 1993

 

"Organizing Complexity: Towards a Dialectical Theory of Organization," Paper presented to the Chaos Network Conference, St. Paul, Minnesota, September 1993

 

"Beyond Postmodernism: The Contributions of Anthropic Cosmology and Complex Systems Theory to the Social Sciences," Paper presented to the American Sociological Association, Miami, Florida, August 1993

 

"Christian Antisemitism and Otherworldliness," Paper presented to the Institute for Christian Jewish Studies, Baltimore, Maryland, May 1992

 

"The Industrial Areas Foundation: A Preliminary Analysis of its Social Base and Political Valence," Paper presented to the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion/Religious Research Association, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November, 1991

 

"The Crisis of Liberation Theology and the Rise of the New Catholic Right," Paper presented to the Association for the Sociology of Religion, Cincinnati, Ohio, August 1991

 

"Religion and the Crisis of Marxism," Paper presented to conference on the Role of Religion in Newly Pluralistic Societies, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary, May 1991

 

"Religion, Communism and the Dialectic," Paper presented to the American Academy of Religion, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 1990

 

"Christianity, Antisemitism, and Empire," Paper presented to the American Academy of Religion, Anaheim, California, November 1989

 

"Interfaith Dialogue in Action: Congregation Based Community Organizations," Paper presented to the Religious Research Association/Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Salt Lake City, Utah, October, 1989

 

"Unity and Struggle in the Rainbow Coalition," Paper presented to the Religious Research Association/Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 1989

 

"Religion, Socialism, and Secularization," Paper presented to the Association for the Sociology of Religion, San Francisco, California, August 1989

 

"Religion and Socialism in the Third World," Paper presented to the Religion and Social Sciences Section of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago, Illinois, November 1988

 

"Political Dimensions of Marian Devotion," Panel Presentation to the Liberation Theology Working Group of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago, Illinois, November, 1988

 

"Class, Gender, and Ethnicity: Shaping American Catholicism," Panel presentation to the American Studies Association, Miami, Florida, October, 1988

 

"Religion and Politics in Global Perspective,” Paper presented to the Eastern International Division of the American Academy of Religion, Siena, New York, April 1988

 

"Blessed Are the Meek...: Religion and Socialism in the Italian American Community," Paper presented to the American Italian Historical Association, Providence, Rhode Island, 1985. 

 

"From Historical Criticism to Historical Materialism: Foundations for a Biblical Sociology," Paper presented to Norman Gottwald's Seminar on Biblical Sociology, 1983, Berkeley, California, extensively circulated and cited.

 

 

THE PUBLIC ARENA

 

My work in the public arena is an extension of my research and teaching and is aimed at leading the communities I serve in analyzing their social contexts, reflecting on fundamental questions of meaning and value, and learning how to act effectively in the public arena. I have served as an advisor to political and religious leaders and as an organizer and consultant for community organizations, NGOs, political organizations, and religious organizations, at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels.

 

President, Seeking Wisdom, 1991-present:

 

Director, University of New Mexico – Gallup/Seeking Wisdom/KGLP By the People Dialogue Project, Autumn 2004. Organized a series of public fora leading up to the November 2004 General Election as part of the By the People Project sponsored by MacNeil-Lehrer Productions. The project was intended to engage ordinary citizens in dialogue and reflection around the fundamental questions of meaning and value which stand behind public policy debates. Questions addressed included values and the economy, the meaning of democracy, whether or not the United States has a unique mission in the world, and the state of the world after the election.

 

Director, Gallup Inter-Religious Dialogue Project, Gallup, New Mexico, 2002-present. Founded in the wake of the events of 11 September 2001, the Gallup Inter-Religious Dialogue Project has brought together Diné, A:shiwi, Native American Church, Islamic, Catholic, Protestant, Bahà’í, Latter Day Saints, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu leaders to engage in dialogue regarding fundamental questions of meaning and value, their vision for a just social order, and their reading of the current global situation. Participation of Native American leaders has begun to attract international attention, and an effort is underway to fund national and international expansion of the project. Local leaders have already drawn into the process a Sufi leader active in the Israel-Arab peace process and the national leader of one the most important Buddhist lineages. Our aim is to catalyze a series of public dialogues regarding fundamental questions of meaning and value which will help to lay the groundwork for a pluralistic, values-based democratic public arena at the local and global levels. During the Autumn of 2002 I also taught an eight week course on Islam for the First United Methodist Church.

 

Advisor, World Forum for Alternatives/World Social Forum, 1998-present. Research analyzing the impact of globalization on human development and civilizational progress in the United States, assessing the state of the social movements, and suggesting strategic directions. Developed the Human Civilization Index measuring levels of human development across a wider ranger of dimensions than existing indices (especially cultural factors) and providing a criterion for evaluating the impact of globalization and of various economic structures and polices. The World Forum is an international nongovernmental organization composed of research institutes and popular organizations.

 

Instructor and Advisor, Center for Human Rights, an immigrant rights organization based in Dallas, Texas, 2001-2001. Provided training in social analysis, social ethics, political strategy, and organizing techniques; advised Director regarding strategy and organizational development.

 

 

Consultant, Southwest Community Congress, 2000. Strategic assessment and fundraising.

 

Strategic planning and leadership development services, various local congregations and other religious institutions, including the Diaconate Training Program, Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Dallas, TX; Campus Ministry, Mt. St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, MD; Congregation Nahalat Shalom, Albuquerque, NM; Resurrection Lutheran Church, Dallas; St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church, Baltimore, M;, Ascension Catholic Church, Albuquerque, NM; St. Ansgar Catholic Church, Hanover Park, IL, 1991-1995.

 

Director, Justice and Peace Commission, Catholic Diocese of Dallas, 1988-1991.

 

Interfaith Organizing

 

Secretary, Strategy Committee, Dallas Area Interfaith, 1988-1991. Played leading role in building a sponsoring committee of 50 congregations for an interfaith organizing effort.

 

Raised $625,000 to support social justice efforts, 1988-1991.

 

Political Action

 

Dallas County Coordinator, Colonias Infrastructure Referendum. Organized bipartisan and interfaith support for a referendum which provided millions of dollars in infrastructure aid to colonias along the Texas-Mexico Border, resulting in voter support 5% above the state average, 1990.

 

Secured support of the Catholic Bishop of Dallas for restructuring of the Dallas City Council to increase ethnic minority representation. The Bishop’s support tipped the balance and resulted in the restructuring we requested. 1988-1990.

 

Advised the Catholic Bishop of Dallas regarding public policy questions.

 

Research: Conducted research regarding the economic, political, and ideological-cultural situation in the diocese, 1988-1991.

 

Teaching: Developed program to train grassroots leaders in social analysis, social ethics, and political strategy, 1988-1991.

 

Service on Boards

 

Delegate, Diocesan Synod, Catholic Diocese of Dallas,  October-November, 1990. Prepared final document on Multicultural Concerns for diocesan synod.

 

Member, Racial and Ethnic Justice Task Force, Greater Dallas Community of Churches, 1988-1991.

 

Editorial Board, Texas Catholic Newspaper, 1988-1991

 

Member, Board of Directors, Roundtable, (National Association of Catholic Diocesan Social Action Directors), 1988‑1991

 

PROFESSIONAL, COMMUNITY AND INSTITUTIONAL SERVICE, CONSULTING, AND AWARDS

 

Editorial, Governing, and Advisory Boards: Founding Editor, Seeking Wisdom (2003-present) and Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society (1991-2002), both international electronic journals of philosophy, religion, and politics; Member, Board of Directors, Study at Peking University Summer Study Abroad Program, (2005 – present); Member, International Advisory Committee, Institute of Philosophy, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2003- present; Editorial Board, Fealsunacht, an Irish Journal of Philosophy, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2000– present; Editorial Board, Russia and the West: A Dialogue of Cultures, Tver State University, 1994-present; International Advisory Committee, Institute for Strategic Studies and Social Progress, University "Braca Karic," 1992-present.; Editorial Board, Texas Catholic Newspaper, 1988-1991; Board of Directors, Roundtable, (National Association of Catholic Diocesan Social Action Directors), 1988‑1991.

 

Academic Consulting: Diploma Examiner World Religions, International Baccalaureate Organization, 1998 – present (Senior Examiner in 2003 and 2005; revised assessment criteria in World Religions, 2004). Consulting services for independent scholars: reading and evaluating manuscripts on sociology, philosophy, and theology and helping prepare them for publication, 1997 – present; Consultant, Encyclopaedia Britannica: revised Religious Studies bibliographies for on-line version of the encyclopaedia, 1994

 

Institutional Service: I have served as a Dean, Department Chair, Program Director, Secretary of the Faculty Senate, Chair of the Faculty Senate Political Affairs Committee, and member of institutional Curriculum and Assessment, Ethics, and Strategic Planning committees, and have played a major role in developing new academic programs and in revising institution-wide liberal arts requirements.

 

Awards, Grants,  and Honorary Memberships: American Academy in Rome/National Endowment for Humanities Summer Seminar, 2003; StudyWeb Academic Excellence Award for the Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society website (www.geocities. com/diacosmos), February 2001; Member, Academy of Humanistic Studies, Moscow, Russian Federation, 1995 – present; Emiliano Zapata Award, Mexican American Democrats, Dallas, TX, 1990; Doctoral Comprehensive Examinations passed with distinction, Graduate Theological Union, 1984; General Honors in the Humanities, University of Chicago, 1977.

 

REFERENCES

 

Scholarship

 

Professor Rosemary Ruether, Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709. Telephone: 1.800.999.0528. Email: [email protected].

 

Dr. Richard Wood, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director, Religious Studies Program, Hokona-Zuni Room 364, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-1151, Telephone: 1.505. 277.4009; Email:  [email protected].

 

 

Teaching and Public Humanities

 

Mr. Ken Roberts, Professor of Art and Art History, University of New Mexico – Gallup, 200 College Road, Gallup, New Mexico 87301. Telephone: 1.505.863.7619. Email: [email protected] 

 

Mr. Robert Hoffman, Chair, Department of Arts and Letters, University of New Mexico – Gallup, 200 College Road, Gallup, New Mexico 87301. Telephone: 1.505.863.7616. Email: [email protected]

 

 

 

 

Administration

 

Dr. Helen Zongolowicz, former Dean of Instruction, University of New Mexico – Gallup, 200 College Road, Gallup, New Mexico 87301. Telephone 1.505.863.7541. Email. [email protected].

 

Mr. Gary Hodge, Academic Dean, Social Sciences, Spring Creek Campus, Collin County Community College, 2800 East Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, Texas 75074. Telephone 1.972.881.5897. Email: [email protected].

 

Dr. Cameron Neal, Academic Dean, Math and Natural Sciences, Spring Creek Campus, Collin County Community College, 2800 East Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, Texas 75074. Telephone 1.972.881.5881. Email: [email protected].

 

 

Global Connections

 

Dr. Yi Li, Instructor in History, Tacoma Community College, 6501 South 19th Street, Tacoma, Washington 98466. Telephone: 1.253.566.5396. Email: [email protected]

 

Dr. Francois Houtart, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Ave. Sainte Gertrude 5, B-1348, Louvain-la Neuve, Belgique.  Telephone: 32.010.45.08.22. Email: [email protected].

 

Dr. Rodolfo Rincones, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Texas at El Paso,  El Paso, Texas and Profesor/Investigador, Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y de Administración Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Telephone: 1.915.747.5300. Email:  [email protected]

 

Dr. Boris Gubman, Professor of Philosophy and Head of the Department of the Theory and History of Culture, Tver State University, Zhelyabova St. 33, Tver 170000, Russian Federation, (08222/3-78-89). Email: [email protected]

 

Mr. James Daly, Senior Lecturer in Scholastic Philosophy, Queens University Belfast, BT7 1NN. (028 90273624) Email [email protected].

 

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