Confucianism Expert to Lecture on Eastern Religious Thought
An internationally recognized expert on Confucianism will deliver the Annual Lecture on Eastern ReligiousThought on Wednesday at The University of Toledo.
Dr. Tu Weiming, professor of philosophy and director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Peking University in Beijing, will discuss “Listening to Confucius” at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16 in the Student Union Auditorium.
Dr. Tu, who serves as senior consultant to the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing, will give anoverview of Chinese culture and Confucianism designed for the general public audience.
“He is one of the top scholars in the field. We are honored to have him visit the University and give our community the opportunity to listen to a world-class scholar tell us about Confucianism,” said Aige Guo, director of the Confucius Institute at The University of Toledo and interim director of the Office of Global Initiatives. “It’s especially important in this time when culture is globalized and people are trying to understand each other more. Anyone interested in learning religion, philosophy and Chinese culture will come away from this event with a better understanding.”
A Chinese lunch will follow the lecture from 11:30 a.m. to noon when the Huazhong Normal University student troupe from China will perform.
The event, which is sponsored by the UT Initiative for Religious Understanding and the Confucius Institute at The University of Toledo, is free and open to the public.
“We are incredibly delightedwe are to have a Confucian scholar of Dr. Tu's eminence coming to our campus and taking the time to talk with us about Confucianism and what wisdom it can bring to the West,” said Dr. Jeanine Diller, assistant professor of philosophy and director of UT’s Initiative for Religious Understanding.
While in Toledo, Dr. Tu also will participate in the “Faith Matters” TV mini-series about contemporary religious issues that airs monthly on WGTE Public Media.
Before joining Peking University, Dr. Tu served as professor of Chinese History and Philosophy and of Confucian Studies at Harvard University. He was selected by the United Nations to participate the Group of Eminent Persons to facilitate the 2001 DialogueAmong Civilizations.
Dr. Tu has written seven books in English and more than 100 articles that focus on the modern transformation of Confucian humanism. His five-volume collected works in Chinese was published in China in 2001.
Press Release Contact Name: Meghan Cunningham
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Organization Name: University of Toledo