Religion in Public:

A Symposium on American Religion in Iowa

Iowa State University, November 10-11, 2022

Day 1: Free and Open to the Public
Sun Room, ISU Memorial Union

5 - 6:30 pm: Keynote Talk: Meatpacking America: How Migration, Work, and Faith Unite and Divide the Heartland

Keynote talk by Dr. Kristy Nabhan-Warren (Iowa) in conversation with Dr. Tim Knepper (Drake) & Dr. Jeff Wheatley (ISU). In Meatpacking America, Native midwesterner Dr. Nabhan-Warren defies stereotypes to reveal the grit and grace of the heartland. Across the flatlands, Protestants, Catholics, and Muslims share space every day as worshippers, employees, and employers. These new and old midwesterners say that a mutual language of faith and morals brings them together more than any of them would have ever expected.

Day 2: Open to the Public with RSVP
Campanile Room, ISU Memorial Union

9-9:45 AM: Breakfast

9:45-10:45: State of the Fields: Research on American Religions Today

• Jeffrey Wheatley, Iowa State

• Sarah Dees, Iowa State

• Cara Burnidge, University of Northern Iowa

• Jon Shields, Simpson College

10:45-11: Break

11-noon: Public History and Religious Literacy within Iowa

• Michael Graziano, Universit of Northern Iowa

• Andrew Klumpp, State Historical Society of Iowa

• Kristy Nabhan-Warren, University of Iowa

• Christopher Chase, Iowa State University

12:15-1:30: Emerging Research Roundtable & Lunch

1:45-2:45: State of the Programs: The Challenges and Opportunities Facing Religious Studies Programs in Iowa (Open Conversation)

2:45-3:00 Conclusion & Send-off

Organized by Scholars of American Religion in Iowa (SOARIA).
Generously funded by American Academy of Religion,
ISU’s Center for Excellence in Arts & Humanities,
ISU’s Dept. of Philosophy & Religious Studies,
& the ISU Lecture Series.