Join some of Middlebury’s expert and engaging faculty members for interactive talks—from home.

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Faculty at Home extends Middlebury’s academic reach to our community around the world. This webinar series invites you to engage in the digital space, to stay connected with faculty members, with big ideas, and with each other.

Moderated by Caitlin Knowles Myers, John G. McCullough Professor of Economics, Sarah Stroup, professor of political science, and Bert Johnson, professor of political science, this series stimulates thought-provoking online conversations for the benefit of the Middlebury community far and wide. Faculty at Home is supported by numerous offices at Middlebury including the Office of the Provost, Advancement, Media Services, and Communications.

Generally, we open up the webinar 5 – 10 minutes ahead of the start time. This offers attendees the chance to let everyone know (via Zoom chat) that they are present and where they are joining from. Zoom settings only allow attendees to see the chat activity from the time they log in, so if you’d like to say hello, consider logging in early.

Recordings are posted about two weeks after the live event. 

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Is Class Identity Religious? Notes from India and Hinduism  

Jennifer Ortegren

Jennifer Ortegren

How do people change when they move up in class status? And what do those changes mean for who we are as individuals and communities? Drawing on her ethnographic research among upwardly mobile Hindu women in urban India, Jenn Ortegren argues for how Hinduism—and especially the Hindu concept of dharma—offers a framework to understand class identity as a form of religious identity. Doing so, she suggests, can help those of us who are not Indian or Hindu think critically about what constitutes class and what constitutes religion.

Jennifer D. Ortegren specializes in the ethnographic study of religions in South Asia, particularly Hinduism and Islam. Her book Middle-Class Dharma: Gender, Aspiration, and the Making of Contemporary Hinduism analyzesthe intersections of religion and class among upwardly mobile Hindu women and argues for how class operates as a category of religious identity. Her current research project examines how class mobility shapes (and reshapes) relationships between Muslim and Hindu women in urban India.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Artistic Creation through Breath  

Matthew Taylor

Matthew Taylor

In this talk, composer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist Dr. Matthew Evan Taylor will discuss his journey toward a breath-centered musical practice. He will discuss how this new framework, “AfroPneumaism,” emerges from the interplay of his interests in Black liberation, accessibility, radical rest, and aesthetics. He will also share his most recent AfroPneumatic works.

Dr. Matthew Evan Taylor (DMA, University of Miami Frost School of Music) is assistant professor of music at Middlebury College. His work has been performed around the world by Metropolis Ensemble, the London-based Chineke! Orchestra, and saxophone virtuoso Timothy McAllister, and others. His piece Life Returns premiered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to much acclaim and is now the basis of an upcoming album. His music is available via all streaming services including Apple Music, Spotify, and Bandcamp.

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