Vocatio: Called to Transformative Encounter
The day-to-day routines of educating rarely prompt or foster sustained and rigorous questioning of what an education is for. In this keynote address, Norman Wirzba asks us to reconsider what a human being is and why educating is central to human development and fulfillment. What are the conditions by which people want to give themselves to each other, as well as to their communities and neighborhoods? What can those of us in higher education do to provide students with the kinds of transformative encounters that will help them to explore and discern their callings? Through an examination of connection, meaning, and purpose, Wirzba will offer a hopeful vision for education that affirms the sacred character of this life—an affirmation that rests on developing what he calls a “sensuous intelligence” committed to creative and skilled engagement within our shared world.