The Raven Foundation

Susan Drawbaugh won the $50 Amazon gift card in the Reflect and Be Rewarded Contest.

Raven Founder Suzanne Ross was a keynote presenter at the Theology and Peace conference held in Baltimore, MD, in June 2011. Her paper, Beyond Power Struggles: Teaching Without Rivalry, illustrates how the teaching of Maria Montessori supports child development while avoiding teacher/child rivalries.

Sandor Goodhart, author of Reading Stephen Sondheim: A Collection of Critical Essays, is a Professor of English and Jewish Studies at Purdue University and Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Classical Studies. Professor Goodhart is a Raven Foundation Board Member and one of the founders of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion (COV&R). In this interview, Professor Goodhart examines the talent of Sondheim, his message and his audience.

Author Debra Anstis is a part time lecturer of New Testament Greek at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. A longtime reader of the work of Girard, she is a member of the Australian Girard Seminar a well as COV&R. Her interest in mimetic theory primarily relates to biblical studies and theology, however, she believes its engagement with other fields makes it especially thought-provoking. In this essay, she examines mimetic rivalry in the world of hip hop.

Teresa Pitts has worked as a professional cartographer and is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Political Science at Virginia Tech, as well as teaching as an adjunct at Radford University.  She is interested in bring Girard’s ideas into Political Science, both in theoretical work as well as at the policy making level. Her essay explores the mimetic rivalries that led to the Rwanda genocide.

Erik Buys holds a master's degree in religious studies from the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), and teaches at a Jesuit High School, Sint-Jozefscollege, in Aalst (Belgium). A member of the Dutch Girard Society, Erik is also a singer, currently performing with El Grillo (Gent, www.elgrillo.be). In this essay, he examines the mimetic nature of man illustrated in the graphic novel, Watchmen.

Raven Founder Suzanne Ross uses the musical Wicked to explore how good people can end up doing very bad things without ever doubting their own goodness. It’s a must read for anyone who takes seriously the goal of being a truly good person.

Dr. Andrew McKenna, Raven Foundation Board Member and Professor of French language and literature at Loyola University in Chicago, illuminates the power of Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov as a work of literature and theatre after viewing the 2008 Lookingglass Theatre production, which was adapted and directed by Lookingglass Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman.