The mission of the Global Institute is to foster consideration of issues related to sustainability, global economic development, and the environment.  The Global Institute seeks to provide regional and national resources for reflecting on the identified theme of the year, such as “Exploring Earth’s Possibilities” (2006-2007), “Women and Children of the Earth” (2005-2006), “The Earth’s Cry for Justice” (2004-2005), “Befriending the Earth” (2003-2004), etc.  The Global Institute usually sponsors a Global Economics Forum during the fall semester and always sponsors a Celebration of the Earth during the spring semester.  Dr. Curt Thompson and Dr. Joyce Cuff are Co-Directors of the Global Institute and various faculty and staff serve as Global Institute Associates.

Earth Week 2008
April 7-9
10th Annual Earth Celebration
2008 Earth Week informational brochure*

Karla I. Gustafson

Margaret Lowman, “Earth’s Hospitality and Rainforest Canopy Biodiversity”
7 p.m., Monday, April 7, Lutheran Heritage Room, Howard Miller Student Center.
Meg Lowman, aka CanopyMeg, will share how the hospitality of nature enriches the life found in the rainforest canopy and what we can learn from that hospitality. Lowman is the director of environmental initiatives at New College in Florida. Her career spans more than 25 years of research in canopy ecology, particularly plantinsect relationships, in Australia, Peru, Africa, the Americas and the South Pacific.





TUESDAY, APRIL 8

Elementary Student Workshop: 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Beeghly Gymnasium.
Workshops for local 4th-6th graders include the earth balloon and planetarium balloon from Carnegie Science Center and hands-on workshops conducted by Thiel College biology and education majors in which grade school students will
investigate the hospitality of the land, water, and other creatures of our planet.

John Bartlett, “The Citizens’ Proposal for Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest”
4 p.m., Tuesday, April 8, Lutheran Heritage Room, Howard Miller Student Center.
John Bartlett of Friends of the Allegheny Wilderness will highlight his organization’s efforts to increase the percentage of the Allegheny National Forest that is granted “protected” status. Bartlett will show how we can “act locally” to ensure that increased wilderness protection is a priority of the stewardship of the forest.

John Caputo, “The Very Idea of Hospitality”
7 p.m., Tuesday, April 8, Lutheran Heritage Room, Howard Miller Student Center.
John Caputo, the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Humanities at Syracuse University, will discuss the concept of hospitality. Drawing on recent philosophical reflection on this theme, he will relate the concept to the idea of the Earth as host and include thoughts on the post-humanism movement that attempts to break down the human vs. nature dichotomy. Caputo specializes in continental philosophy of religion and contemporary approaches to religion and theology, among other topics.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9

Bryan Wagoner, “The Borders of Hospitality”
4 p.m., Wednesday, April 9, Lutheran Heritage Room, Howard Miller Student Center.
Bryan Wagoner is the Global Institute scholar-in-residence at Thiel College and teaches courses in religion and Greek. He will discuss the notion of hospitality and how it relates to the immigration policies and practices of the United States. Hospitality requires limits, an issue that is at the forefront of how to best manage the country’s borders. Wagoner is currently writing his dissertation on Paul Tillich’s relationship to the Frankfurt School of social theory in pursuit of a doctorate from Harvard University.

Eugene Linden, “Earth’s Hospitality and a Hospitable Environmental Politics”
7 p.m., Wednesday, April 9, Lutheran Heritage Room, Howard Miller Student Center.
Eugene Linden is a world-renowned science, technology and environmental writer. He will address the fact that ecological and environmental inhospitality has serious consequences. His most recent work, Winds of Change: Climate, Weather and the Destruction of Civilizations, reveals that civilizations become prosperous and complacent during good weather only to collapse as a result of drastic climate change. Linden has written extensively about endangered animals, biodiversity, water supply threats, global deforestation and the politics of the environment.

Carrie Newcomer in concert
8:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 9, David Johnson Memorial Chapel
Singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer returns to Thiel for her second Earth Week celebration in support of her 11th album, “The Geography of Light.” A musician, teacher, activist and Quaker, Newcomer will explore the way that hospitality shines a light that helps the giver and receiver shed those labels and move beyond them, while darkness enters and division occurs when hospitality fades and withdraws. Her contemporary folk songs include Appalachian and classical infl uences and she has shared the stage with artists like Mary Chapin Carpenter and Alison Krauss.

All of the events throughout the Earth Week celebration are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by the Global Institute of Thiel College, working in partnership with the College’s Division for Student Engagement and Success. Questions can be directed to co-directors of the Global Institute, Dr. Curt Thompson at (724) 589-2016 or Dr. Joyce Cuff at (724) 589-2066.