Benjamin McArthur Endowed Lecture Series
THE 2024 BENJAMIN MCARTHUR LECTURE
Southern Adventist University’s honors program, Southern Scholars, is pleased to welcome
Karen Swallow Prior, Ph.D., as the presenter for the second annual Benjamin McArthur
Endowed Lecture. Her presentation is titled "Conversion: What Can the Evangelical Movement Teach Us about Religious Transformation?"
This installment of the lecture series will take place on Wednesday, April 3, at 7
p.m. in Mabel Wood Hall’s Ackerman Auditorium.
Evangelicals have been defined throughout their 300-year-old movement by an emphasis
on the conversion experience. This emphasis emerged from a number of historical and
theological developments that continue to this day. Understanding this history can
help us better understand the national religious and cultural landscape of the present.
Karen Swallow Prior earned her Ph.D. in English at the State University of New York
at Buffalo. She is a popular writer and speaker, as well as a columnist for Religion
News Service. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vox, The Washington Post, Christianity Today, and many other places. Her most recent book is The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture
in Crisis (Brazos, 2023).
The Benjamin McArthur Lecture Series is free to attend, and all are welcome.
About the Lecture Series
Benjamin McArthur was a beloved professor and an active scholar. He taught in the
History and Political Studies Department of Southern from 1979 until 2017, except
for a three-year period from 2009-2012 during which he served as the academic dean
of Southwestern Adventist University. He published three books and numerous articles
during his long academic career.
The Benjamin McArthur Endowed Lecture Series addresses topics that McArthur cared deeply about: the life of the mind, service to community, and spiritual commitment. Additionally, it offers opportunities for participating students, employees, and community members to have informal conversations with the guest speakers, including luncheons and receptions.
Support the Lecture Series
Your gift will honor Benjamin McArthur's legacy and support future lectures that examine the relevance of history to our contemporary context.