AJ Pardue, a junior Christian studies and business major from Angleton, has been invited to speak at the Baylor Faith Symposium, an annual academic conference that explores the intersection of Christian faith and intellectual life by addressing significant cultural, academic, and ethical questions. Dr. Jacob West, the associate dean of Logsdon School of Theology recommended Pardue for the opportunity.
“I pitched the idea to him and he ran with it,” Dr West said. “We have since then met periodically to discuss resources and thought trains. The best part is to see him or any other student love researching, studying, and presenting ideas. The challenge is staying ahead of the topic. Sometimes with sharp students like we have at Hardin-Simmons University, you set a pathway and get out of the way.”
The Baylor Institute on Faith and Learning, led by Dr. Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, hosts the Symposium on Faith and Culture. The symposium is a three-day series of presentations and plenary sessions. This year’s theme is Renewing and Reimagining Institutions for the Common Good.
“The prompt [can be described as] how can we better equip ecclesial, political, and educational institutions to better benefit the common good,” Pardue said. “In essence it’s asking in what ways can we prescribe actions through institutions that better help the common people.”
Pardue began preparing for the symposium in July, submitting his proposal, before being invited to come and speak at the event.
“My proposal aims at identifying micro aggressions,” Pardue said. “The main thesis of my proposal is that institutions have prescribed what not to do regarding micro aggressions, but they do not prescribe what to do. If you go to a doctor and they identify your sickness and symptoms and tell you how to avoid it, but they never give you the medicine you need, then they may not be following generally accepted procedures. The same can currently be said of microaggressions. People are prescribing what not to do, while not actually helping with what we need to do. My proposal is the “medicine” to the microaggression “sickness.” In this proposal, we came up with the term micro benevolence. Micro benevolence is intentional small acts of kindness to cultivate a greater and better community focused on the common good.”
Dr. West emphasized the importance of the event pointing out the certain needs on university campuses that could be met by the symposium speakers.
“Someone occasionally walks through a university campus and says, “My day is off the rails.” It could be that the presenters at this conference will tell us why,” Dr West said. “It could be that the ideas shared can help this person. Maybe the symposium will present a thought to share with this person. I also expect to hear an idea that needs to bring change to my thinking most of all.”
Pardue will be speaking Oct. 17, just before John Collins, co-founder of the Bible Project, and one of the main speakers at the symposium. Baylor University has also mentioned a possibility of publishing a paper version of Pardue's proposal.
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