Liberation Theology Reading Group - Spring 2025
Escuela al aire libre, Diego Rivera (1932)
This Spring, join PRÉCIS Postdoctoral Research Associate Dr. Austen McDougal for a new reading group on liberation theology. We will look at what radical liberation for the oppressed might mean in Christian frameworks, focusing on developments in Latin America in the second half of the 20th century. Please join us if you would like to scratch the surface of these ideas and discuss the relation between religion and social movements.
All readings will be done during the session, and no prior background is expected. All are welcome! Dinner will be served.
You may sign up here.
Time & Location: Tuesdays from 6:00-7:20pm in Wooten Hall 301
Dates: April 1, 8, 15, and 22
This reading group is designed for undergraduates, but all Princeton students are warmly invited.
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Dr. Austen McDougal is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Philosophy and Religion who specializes in ethics. His research pulls on an age-old thread that says ethics is fundamentally, albeit not exclusively, about the heart. In particular, motives for acting have intrinsic significance independent of outcome: being for what matters (motives) is just as important to ethics as bringing about what matters (outcomes). He also argues that agency is basically about deciding your motives and only derivatively about voluntary control over your actions. A number of recent projects explore the grounds for more compassionate ways of being oriented toward others: for showing attention, grace, and love even when these might not be deserved. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stanford and an A.B. in Philosophy with a certificate in Computer Science from Princeton.
PRÉCIS, which stands for “Philosophy, Religion, and Existential Commitments in Society,” is an initiative of the Princeton Project in Philosophy and Religion (3PR), in collaboration with the Philosophy Department. The initiative is primarily focused on undergraduates and aims to foster philosophical and theological reflection on how we should live. The popular course “PHI 211: Philosophy, Religion, and Existential Commitments” is sponsored by PRÉCIS.
Please email Sebastian Hayden (sahayden@princeton.edu) or Austen McDougal (austenm@princeton.edu)for more details.
