For most college students, the four years spent as an undergraduate are meant for self expression and discovery.
With this in mind, The Research Team for Faith Values and Spirituality at UT has three goals in mind.
The first, character building, is based on making choices and identifying personal values.
The group strives for spiritual development, the understanding of world cultures and religion, encouraging interfaith conversations.
In short, the club allows for meaningful conversations and an opportunity to connect with others three times each semester.
This fall they have organized a series of programs in which they will discuss various famous religious works.
On Friday, Sept. 25th at 8 p.m., students will meet in Reeves Theatre to view the religious film “Doubt.”
Following the production, students will engage in an in-depth spiritual discussion regarding themes in the movie.
Dr. Ryan Cragun, assistant professor of Sociology, and Dr. Gary Luter, director of the Honors Program, will lead the discussion and answer questions on a panel.
In the second component of the series, which takes place on both Oct. 2nd and Oct. 16th at noon in Vaughn 219, members will discuss Randy Pausch’s emotional story “The Last Lecture.”
His heartwarming tale describes Professor Pausch’s “Last Lecture” at Carnegie Mellon University after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The lecture teaches students to overcome obstacles, follow their hearts and seize the moment.
Finally, on Oct. 30th and Nov. 13th, students will discuss Yann Martel’s story of adventure, survival and faith, called “Life of Pi.”
The plot follows the character Pi as his family flees from India and Pi eventually finds himself shipwrecked with a Bengal Tiger.
All students are encouraged to participate and Books will be provided.
These discussions are open to any members of the UT community.
Amanda Price can be contacted at amanda.price@ut.edu.