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RSA 2021-22 

Religion, Spirituality, and the Arts (RSA) is a program of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute that brings together artists, religious leaders, religious communities, humanities experts, and a broad range of publics from diverse backgrounds and disciplinary perspectives for sustained study, analysis, and discussion of religious texts in a classroom environment.

Directed by Rabbi Sandy Sasso, these textual discussions, which explore the varieties of religious experience and understanding, provide the inspiration for creating new artistic works (e.g. music, poetry, fiction, drama, visual art, dance). Artists share their creations through exhibitions and presentations to members of the Central Indiana community, including religious organizations, congregations, schools, libraries, and community groups. 

2021-22 Theme: Water from the Rock

In the religious imagination, water quenches both physical and spiritual thirst. In the most unexpected places wells and rocks become the bearers of story. Focusing on the Exodus narrative of Moses’ striking the rock, which reveals an aquifer, we will consider the power of water as sustenance, healing, and renewal. The seminar will explore how seemingly inanimate entities such as water and rocks might also be alive and help us rethink our relationship to the earth.

Key Texts:

Exodus 17:1-7

Numbers 20

We will be examining these texts within an environmental context.  Focusing on the Exodus and Numbers narratives of Moses’ striking the rock which opens an aquifer, we will consider the power of water as sustenance, healing, and renewal.  The seminar will explore how seemingly inanimate entities such as water and rocks might also be alive and help us rethink our relationship to the earth.

Faculty

  • Daniel Cueto, Composer, Performer, Associate Instructor, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

  • Dr. Andy Findley, Associate Faculty in the IU School of Liberal Arts and Adjunct Instructor in the Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI

  • Shonda Nicole Gladden, IAHI Graduate Assistant

  • Dr. Jason M. Kelly, Professor of History in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI

  • Julia Muney Moore, Director of Public Art for the Arts Council of Indianapolis

  • Stefan Petranek, Associate Professor of Photography in the Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI

  • Dr. Sandy Sasso, Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck

  • Dr. Uranchimeg Tsultem, Assistant Professor, Edgar and Dorothy Fehnel Chair in International Studies in the Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI

  • Dr. Joseph Tucker Edmonds, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Religious Studies at IUPUI

  • Shari Wagner, Author and Indiana Poet Laureate (2016-2017)

Schedule

Sessions will be held for 2 1/2 hours weekly for a total of eight weeks and will meet evenings from 6:00–8:30 p.m. on 9/9, 9/23, 9/30, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 12/2, 1/13.

Because of COVID-19, our seminar meetings will be held online via Zoom. Participation will require a computer with a microphone and an internet connection. Based on artists interest, we may also schedule informal online gatherings for small discussion groups, artist sharing and collaborative sessions. Any potential in-person gatherings or events will be dependent on COVID safety precautions.