Acknowledged as the common patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Abraham links these three cultures throughout the Middle East. William Ury, co-founder and director of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, explores ways that programs like the Abraham Path Initiative, which he chairs, can serve as a bridge to a lasting peace in the Middle East and how the story of Abraham has the power to inspire cross-cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 14354]

Experiences in which the senses are intermingled in usual ways are a common motif in the descriptions that mystics provide of their unordinary sensory experiences. The panelists discuss the role that such experiences have played in the thought and practice of selected figures in the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian mystical traditions. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 13192]

Mario T. Garcia, author of several books on Mexican American leaders, is the editor of the recently released collection of César Chávez’s reflections on a variety of spiritual topics such as the power of faith, self-sacrifice, nonviolence, social justices, fasting, and pilgrimage. A panel discussion follows introductory remarks. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14358]

Author Philip Yancey explores the influence of faith and spirit on his writing in this interview with Dean Nelson of Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 13985]

Dr. Rosemary Reuther approaches religious and ethical questions as an historian of ideas in their social context, but also as a practitioner of what she calls “advocacy scholarship.” In this Burke Lecture, Dr. Reuther examines how the idea that the US is an elect and messianic nation has encouraged abuses against the rights of others, both foreign and domestic. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14225]

Experiences in which the senses are intermingled in usual ways are a common motif in the descriptions that mystics provide of their unordinary sensory experiences. This workshop examines the phenomenon of synaesthesia from a multi-disciplinary perspective in order to advance our understanding of the relationship between synaesthesia, metaphor, creativity, and religious and artistic practices. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 13191]

Professor James Young, Commissioner of Germany’s National Memorial to Europe’s Murdered Jews, and juror for the WTC Site Memorial Competition, discusses the history of memorial projects. [Humanities] [Show ID: 14091]

UCSD Professor of Modern Jewish Studies Deborah Hertz discusses her new book, which traces the social history of German Jewish families from 1645 through the 1930s. [Humanities] [Show ID: 13726]

The Temple Mount is the most sacred and contested real estate on earth. Yet it is also a physical place in the center of a city -- and the center of a century of conflict between Jews and Arabs. Gershom Gorenberg, an American-born journalist who has lived in Jerusalem since 1977, ponders if God's mountain can ever become a symbol of peace. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 13978]

Conversations with History host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Fawaz A. Gerges for a discussion on the origins, evolution and future direction of Islamic militancy. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 13466]