Search results for

The Department of Religious Studies Presents Carolyn Chen, Department of Ethnic Studies University of California Berkeley

Work may be the new religion in Silicon Valley, a concept that has implications for hard-working employees everywhere. The Department of Religious Studies at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte presents “Work Pray Code: What Happens When Work Becomes Religion?” The lecture and Q&A will be presented by Carolyn Chen, Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion as part of the 38th Annual Loy H. Witherspoon Lecture. Dr. Chen has conducted more than five years of in-depth interviews with Silicon Valley tech workers to examine how and why companies bring religious practices and ideas into work spaces and cultures. This study shows that work comes to satisfy needs for identity, belonging, purpose, and even transcendence that have traditionally been associated with organized religion. She warns that adopting and repurposing practices like meditation and mindfulness in the workplace weakens not only religious institutions but the social and civic institutions that were once the foundations of our communities.



The Loy H. Witherspoon lecture is the oldest endowed lecture series at UNC Charlotte, and the Department of Religious Studies is celebrating its 50th year at the University. Learn more.



Carolyn Chen received her doctorate in Sociology from UC Berkeley in 2002. At UC Berkeley, Professor Chen is Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, a member of the Center for Chinese Studies, and the Religious Diversity Cluster at the Othering and Belonging Institute, and an affiliate in the Department of Sociology. Prior to teaching at Berkeley, she was Associate Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies at Northwestern University, where she served as Director of the Asian American Studies Program. Professor Chen’s research focuses on two areas: work and religion in contemporary America, and religion, race, and ethnicity, especially among Asian Americans. She is author of Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience (Princeton 2008) and co-editor of Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity and Religion among the Latino and Asian-American Second Generation (NYU 2012). Her new book is Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley (Princeton 2022).

“Israel Has a Jewish Problem,” tells stories about the multiple ways that Jews struggle to be Jewish in Israel. Some of the stories are amusing, others frustrating, but all seem counter-intuitive. Dalsheim argues that struggles over Jewishness are part of the process of producing the ethnos for an ethno-national state. But the paradox is also about how nationalism limits popular sovereignty. Self-determination can become a form of self-elimination, narrowing the possible forms of Jewishness and reproducing Europe’s classic “Jewish Question” in new ways.

Joyce Dalsheim, is a cultural anthropologist and professor in the Department of Global Studies at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She earned a doctorate at The New School for Social Research in New York. Dalsheim’s work interrogates some of the social and political categories through which everyday life is navigated. Her ethnographic research has focused primarily on what it means to be Jewish in Israel, the self-proclaimed Jewish State. Considering Jewishness in its broadest sense, she has explored the relationships between multiple Israeli Jewish communities in their struggles with each other and with their Palestinian neighbors. Employing critical and postcolonial theory, she has used the case of Israel to speak to broader issues of identity categories and conflict, temporality, historical narratives, religion and the secular, nationalism, citizenship, and sovereignty.

Join us for the Charlotte LUNGe Forward 5K Run, Walk & Celebration! It will be a day of celebration and remembrance, as well as a day to take action and provide hope to those impacted by lung cancer. Your support will make an impact in the fight against lung cancer!

Volunteer opportunities available. Email events@lungcancerinitiativenc.org for more details

Beacon tells a story. Or several stories if you like. Buildings naturally speak of contrasts, of opening and closing, revealing and concealing. They penetrate deep into the imagination and stimulate mystery, poetry, beauty and play. Buildings are of course an extension of those who built them, and a house only holds meaning in its reference to humans. Stories lie in the history, labor and structural intelligence of the built environment. And in the end, life really is about stories. Sculptor Morgan Kinne constructs an ambient narrative through installation, sculpture and mixed media works using the building as a mode of communication. Beacon is an invitation to enter the narrative. Or alter it. Or construct your own..

Morgan Kinne lives and works in Charleston, SC. She received her BFA in Sculpture from Winthrop University and her MFA in Contemporary Sculpture at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. In 2020, she was chosen as the Griffith-Reyburn Lowcountry Artist of the Year by the Coastal Community Foundation and was a finalist for the 701 CCA Prize.

Dr. Halide Salam continues a 40-year focus on the intersections between the biological, the ecological, and the
spiritual in art, leading her into an increasingly deeper understanding for her own position within her practice.
This exhibition will include recent paintings from Salam’s new series of paintings (TransPlace, TransLight, and
TransMigration), within which she explores her own personal growth as a Muslim immigrant in modern
America. A central focus for Dr. Salam is a poem by the 13-century Sufi poet Rumi:

I died as a mineral and became a plant,
I died as plant and rose to animal,
I died as animal and I was Man.
What should I fear?
When was I less by dying?

Dr. Halide Salam was born in West Bengal, India, but spent much of her early life in East Pakistan. She began
her studies in Chattogram, Bangladesh, but migrated to the United States in 1971 at the insistence of her
parents. She received her MA in Painting from New Mexico Highlands University and continued on to earn her
Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Texas Tech University. She later studied Sacred Geometry and Sacred Art Traditions
at the Royal College of Art, London. In 2020, Dr. Salam retired as a Professor of Art from Radford University
after 40 years of teaching. She lives and works in Blacksburg, VA.

The purpose of the Health/Career Fair is to increase health awareness through education and prevention as well as to helping those to find a path for their career through Graduate schools and Companies offering employment.
The Health/Career Fair will be open to students, faculty, and staff at our campus as well as the Charlotte Community. We anticipate an attendance of approximately 500 people

The Progress XChange proudly presents its Inaugural Charity Event featuring Tony Award Winner and entertainment icon Melba Moore Saturday 4.22.23

The JAZZ ROOM celebrates its 100th month in elegant fashion, presenting trumpeter/vocalist Jeremy Davenport and his quintet for a romantic evening of old-fashioned vocal classics from the Great American Song Book. Davenport’s cool blend of timeless swing and charismatic storytelling delivers the quintessential lounge experience reminiscent of jazz rooms of yesteryear.
Raised on the St. Louis Symphony, Jeremy Davenport moved to New Orleans to discover jazz, and toured the world for six years with Harry Connick, Jr. A born entertainer, he went on to discover his own voice, literally as vocalist and trumpeter, with several critically acclaimed albums that highlight his unique blend of New Orleans jazz with a modern edge, bringing a jazz celebration to the JAZZ ROOM.

FEATURED MUSICIANS
Karen Shiraishi on piano
Aaron Narcisse on saxophone
Jesse Boyd on bass
Troy Davis on drums

The JAZZ ROOM provides a casual and intimate setting with tables and a full bar, reminiscent of the classic jazz rooms of yesteryear.

The JazzArts Music Camp is an exciting one-week comprehensive music training program for rising middle and high school students ready to discover America’s original art form: JAZZ. Students will be immersed in an intensive jazz curriculum and have the opportunity to interact and play with other motivated young musicians from across the Charlotte region.
The JazzArts Music Camp experience includes: small combo performance, jazz improvisation, faculty concerts (each afternoon), jazz history and listening, jazz theory (basic to advanced), composition, master class instruction on bass, drums, guitar, piano, saxophone (all woodwinds), trombone and trumpet, and student jam sessions. All instruments are welcome, including vocals.
In addition, each summer, we are thrilled to bring in a renowned national jazz musician to spend a day one on one with students. There will be a culminating community concert performance on Friday evening, the last day of camp.
Need- and merit-based scholarships are available. Registration is open now through June 8 2023. For more information and to register, contact the JazzArts Charlotte at www.thejazzarts.org or call 704-334-3900.
Thanks to Akers Foundation, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, North Carolina Arts Council, Arts & Science Council. Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Knight Foundation, South Arts, UNC Charlotte, the Infusion Fund, Ford Foundation, and Alice T Walton Foundation for their support of this program.

Get ready for the next edition of our community concert series, OneBand, hosted in partnership with the amazing humans at Charlotte is Creative! Enjoy a mini concert performed by a group of local musicians, as well as a special guest performer or two throughout the night! It's totally free to attend, and the amazing StrudelTeig Food Truck will be serving dinner during the event!

Presented by Epoch Tribe with Levine Museum of the New South and Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, The Men Inside is a live, on-stage production that honors the paths of Black men who have become change-makers in their community. Inspired by the exhibition Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth., the show shares deeply personal stories and open-hearted truths of Black men in Charlotte.

It’s a full-on display of the emotional and interpersonal journeys, as well as a beautiful and bold theatrical exploration of the hearts and minds of real Black men. Through the stories of a few, we see connections to many.

On Saturday, March 25, 2023, Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center will host its 4th annual Communication Counts timed 5k race and Kids Dash at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte. All registrants will receive a t-shirt and 5k racers will also receive a race medal.

This event will raise critical funds that provide access to superior speech-language and hearing services that empower and transform lives to anyone in need in our community.

Artist Associate in Piano Cynthia Lawing presents a program of music based on religious themes. Most of his life, Franz Liszt embraced two worlds, secular and spiritual, and this performance highlights his works that reflect his innermost ecclesiastical yearning.

Free and open to the public. Tickets are not required.

Expect the unexpected from comedy to thrills, circus artists and dancers will entertain in this cabaret-style, PG performance for mature audiences. Enjoy gravity-defying aerial acts and tantalizing dance featuring breakdancing, contemporary dance, Cyr Wheel, Aerial Straps and much more on February 17-19 at the Booth Playhouse.

Expect the unexpected from comedy to thrills, circus artists and dancers will entertain in this cabaret-style, PG performance for mature audiences. Enjoy gravity-defying aerial acts and tantalizing dance featuring breakdancing, contemporary dance, Cyr Wheel, Aerial Straps and much more on February 17-19 at the Booth Playhouse.

Expect the unexpected from comedy to thrills, circus artists and dancers will entertain in this cabaret-style, PG performance for mature audiences. Enjoy gravity-defying aerial acts and tantalizing dance featuring breakdancing, contemporary dance, Cyr Wheel, Aerial Straps and much more on February 17-19 at the Booth Playhouse.

Expect the unexpected from comedy to thrills, circus artists and dancers will entertain in this cabaret-style, PG performance for mature audiences. Enjoy gravity-defying aerial acts and tantalizing dance featuring breakdancing, contemporary dance, Cyr Wheel, Aerial Straps and much more on February 17-19 at the Booth Playhouse.

The Gold Standard Chorus, Charlotte's premier men's a cappella group, is preparing to deliver Singing Valentines. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and our SV project is an important fundraising activity.

Friday, Jan. 27 Charlotte Regional Farmers Market will be hosting Meat Soup Day from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. January is National Meat Month and National Soup Month. What better way to celebrate than combining those two things and hosting a Meat Soup Day? Four Charlotte Regional Farmers Market vendors will be sampling different meat soups made from their chicken, beef and even crab. Come enjoy a savory chicken soup from All Natural Farms, two tasty beef soups from S & J Produce and Rockraven Farms, and a comforting crab soup from BB’s Homemade Krab Kakes. These meat soups are sure to warm you up and put a smile on your face with how mouth-wateringly excellent they are. Stop by to enjoy the tastes of the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market.

After sampling some delicious soups, you may want to make some yourself. This is an excellent place to purchase local ingredients for your meals, in-season produce and products for gifting. The Charlotte Regional Farmers Market is open Wednesday through Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round; This can become your weekly food shopping location!

The Charlotte Regional Farmers Market is one of four, state-operated farmers markets located across North Carolina. It is located at 1801 Yorkmont Rd, Charlotte, NC 28217. For more information visit www.charlottefarmersmarket.com or follow them on Facebook.

Horrible bosses make life miserable in a variety of ways, but when the doofus in charge is the President of the United States, the stakes of maintaining workplace sanity are even higher. In Selina Fillinger’s savage, riotous POTUS, a group of unwitting heroines, ranging from the Chief of Staff to the mistress to the First Lady herself, must keep the toxic office culture of the White House from tipping into international disaster. Will they grab a little power for themselves in the process?

Directed by Stephen Kaliski with an all-star cast of Charlotte actors, POTUS skewers the proud American tradition of feckless male leadership while also hinting at a better way forward.

The recent Broadway premiere starred Vanessa Williams, Lea DeLaria, and Rachel Dratch. Critics called it “a delicious feminist farce” (Variety) and “a breath of fresh air on Broadway…The likelihood that you will laugh until your face hurts is one of near certainty.” (Entertainment Weekly). It closed in August 2022, making this Charlotte staging one of the first regional productions.

This new cast includes Jennifer Adams, Marla Brown, Iris DeWitt, Sarah Molloy, Iesha Nyree, Katy Shepherd, and Valerie Thames. The show will be designed by Chip Davis (scenic), Ashleigh Poteat (costumes), Gordon Olson (lighting), and Matt Sherwin (sound and compositions), with Allison Collins and Sarah Provencal as fight and intimacy choreographers. Carrie Cranford will serve as production manager, and Kathryn Harding will stage manage. Savannah Deal and Marla Brown are the producers.

Contains strong adult language. Recommended for ages 17+.