9-16-04
PENN STATE BEHREND PRESENTS
AMERICAN DREAM FUNDAMENTALISTS
On Tuesday, October 5, Rev. Charles Brock presents the first lecture in the Institute on the American Dream Series. His presentation, "American Dream Fundamentalists," will be held in the Smith Chapel at Penn State Behrend at 7:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
Despite its popular definition as the acquisition of material success, James Truslow Adams defines the American Dream not as "a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable." The American Dream is, according to Brock, "freedom, equality, and success."
American Dream fundamentalism is the literal interpretation of American Dream ideals, applied to all people without consideration of background or ability: "text without context." Brock founded the Institute on the American Dream to explore "both the bright and dark sides of the dream." In his lecture, Brock will examine the beliefs of three men who held or hold American fundamentalist ideals: Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and Arnold Swarzenegger.
Charles Brock received his M.Div. at Harvard University and his M.Litt. at Oxford. He is the author of four books, including most recently Mosaics of the American Dream (1994). Brock serves as senior research associate in religious studies at Penn State Behrend and as director of the Institute on the American Dream.
The October series will feature three other lectures on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Smith Chapel: Rabbi John Bush on Jewish fundamentalism, Professor Baher Ghosheh of Edinboro University on Islamic fundamentalism, and Professor Dan Frankforter of Penn State Behrend on Christian fundamentalism.
Contact: Jen Town 814-898-6522 e-mail: jlt234@psu.edu