Events
Faculty Reading Group on the Human Genome
Led by: Jason Tresser
When: Fall 2026, select Fridays over lunch
Book: Who We Are and How We Got Here
by Harvard biologist David Reich
David Reich is a biologist from Harvard who specializes in sequencing ancient human DNA. His work has challenged assumptions about the origins and movements of human populations. This book tells some of those stories and also wrestles with the role that genetic analysis plays in modern discussions of race, identity and society. We will read this book with a curious and critical lens as to how important DNA is to human history and culture.
Faculty Reading Group on Marilynne Robinson
Led by: Haein Park
When: Fall 2026, select Tuesdays or
Thursdays, 12p - 1:15p over lunch
Book: Select Essays by Marilynne Robinson
This semester, we will read select essays by the Pulitzer-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson and examine her reflections on the following topics: relationship between science and religion, particularly the unacknowledged metaphysics in neo-Darwinist writings and a genetics-based understanding of human behavior; John Calvin as both a Reformed theologian and Christian humanist; Puritanism and its influence on American evangelical history; and incarnational theology as a response to the postmodern turn. While the topics listed above may appear disparate, what connects them is the way in which Robinson touches on themes and characteristics of what it means to be human and how to flourish as humans. In the process of reading her essays, we will draw out some of the implications of the author’s Christologically-grounded humanism.
ELSI Capacity Building Training #1Fri, Oct 23Zoom link to come
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training #1Fri, Jan 29Biola University- Exact location TBD