Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2011. 7:00 PM.
Location: Geology Corner (Bldg. 320), Room 105
Medieval Matters is a series of public lectures sponsored by Continuing Studies, the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, the Office for Religious Life, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Sarum Seminar. It explores the relevance of medieval history and culture to understanding the modern world. Miracle Cures: Saints, Pilgrimage, and the Healing Powers of Belief Iconic images of medieval pilgrims, such as Chaucer’s pilgrims making their laborious way to Canterbury, conjure a distant time when faith was the only refuge of the ill and infirm. But why today, in an age of advanced biotechnology and medicine, do millions of people still go on pilgrimage to such places as Lourdes, Compostela, and Medjugorje, to pray for healing? Why do journeys to important religious shrines constitute a major industry? Using insights gained from present-day research on the effects of belief, hope, emotions, and context on illness, Robert Scott investigates how praying to saints, participating in sacred journeys, and being in the emotionally charged atmosphere of a healing shrine can combine to have both immediate and long-lasting benefits for a person who is suffering from common kinds of conditions. In June 2010, when Bob Scott published his book, bearing the same title as this program, Science magazine wrote, “At a time when issues of religion and science can so easily ignite passions at both ends of the spectrum of true believers, it is refreshing to see the topics treated in an objective and scholarly manner.” ROBERT A. SCOTT Associate Director, Emeritus, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), Stanford Robert Scott is a sociologist who has published two books on medieval religion and culture: The Gothic Enterprise and Miracle Cures: Saints, Pilgrimage, and the Healing Powers of Belief. He was at CASBS from 1983 to 2001, and again in 2009 and 2010. Previously he taught sociology at Princeton for eighteen years. PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE -- BEGINS AT 7PM
Location: Geology Corner (Bldg. 320), Room 105
Medieval Matters is a series of public lectures sponsored by Continuing Studies, the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, the Office for Religious Life, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Sarum Seminar. It explores the relevance of medieval history and culture to understanding the modern world. Miracle Cures: Saints, Pilgrimage, and the Healing Powers of Belief Iconic images of medieval pilgrims, such as Chaucer’s pilgrims making their laborious way to Canterbury, conjure a distant time when faith was the only refuge of the ill and infirm. But why today, in an age of advanced biotechnology and medicine, do millions of people still go on pilgrimage to such places as Lourdes, Compostela, and Medjugorje, to pray for healing? Why do journeys to important religious shrines constitute a major industry? Using insights gained from present-day research on the effects of belief, hope, emotions, and context on illness, Robert Scott investigates how praying to saints, participating in sacred journeys, and being in the emotionally charged atmosphere of a healing shrine can combine to have both immediate and long-lasting benefits for a person who is suffering from common kinds of conditions. In June 2010, when Bob Scott published his book, bearing the same title as this program, Science magazine wrote, “At a time when issues of religion and science can so easily ignite passions at both ends of the spectrum of true believers, it is refreshing to see the topics treated in an objective and scholarly manner.” ROBERT A. SCOTT Associate Director, Emeritus, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), Stanford Robert Scott is a sociologist who has published two books on medieval religion and culture: The Gothic Enterprise and Miracle Cures: Saints, Pilgrimage, and the Healing Powers of Belief. He was at CASBS from 1983 to 2001, and again in 2009 and 2010. Previously he taught sociology at Princeton for eighteen years. PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE -- BEGINS AT 7PM