BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's High Country Humanities—in collaboration with the Department of Philosophy and Religion—is pleased to present “Philosophy and Religious Studies in the Contemporary World,” a series of four presentations by App State faculty members throughout the Spring 2025 semester.
The series will explore philosophical questions relevant to our daily lives. For instance, what is the relationship between happiness and health? How do stories persuade people to change their minds? What do myths tell us about how people once understood the world? What moral issues does technology such as artificial intelligence raise?
Each of the following presentations will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Room 1102 of Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, located at 423 West King Street in Boone. Attendees may use the College Street Parking Deck next to the Belk Library and Information Commons free-of-charge from 5 p.m. until the end of the event.
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Thursday, January 30, 2025
“Happiness and Health" with Dr. Mathew A. Foust and Dr. Anna Holleman
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Dr. Mathew A. Foust, professor of philosophy and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, will give a talk titled “Daoist Philosophy and the Happiness of Fish (and Humans).” Dr. Foust's research draws primarily on ancient Chinese philosophy and classical American philosophy, with an abiding interest in areas of intersection between these traditions. He is the author of Confucianism and American Philosophy, published by SUNY Press and Loyalty to Loyalty: Josiah Royce and the Genuine Moral Life, published by Fordham University Press, among other publications.
Dr. Anna Holleman, assistant professor of sociology, will give a talk titled “Mental Health and Religion: Thinking Organizationally.” Dr. Holleman's research and teaching interests include religion, health, inequality and research methods. Her research focuses on how religion and inequality interact as social determinants of health, as well as how religious organizations and leaders respond to health crises. Her work has been published in JAMA Psychiatry, Social Science & Medicine, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and Sociology of Religion, among other outlets.
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Thursday, February 27, 2025
“Hope and Despair” with Dr. Thomas B. Ellis and Dr. Jack M. C. Kwong
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Dr. Thomas B. Ellis, professor of religious studies, will give a talk titled “Despair, Faith and Illusions of Agency.” Dr. Ellis specializes in South Asian religious and philosophical traditions, the psychology and biology of religion, and infectious disease and culture. He is the author of Religion, Disease and Immunology, published by Bloomsbury Academic, and On the Death of the Pilgrim: The Postcolonial Hermeneutics of Jarava Lal Mehta, published by Springer.
Dr. Jack M. C. Kwong, professor of philosophy, will give a talk titled “Hoping in the Face of Despair.” Dr. Kwong is the author of numerous articles on the topic of hope and despair. His work has appeared in journals such as The Journal of the American Philosophical Association, the American Philosophical Quarterly and the European Journal of Philosophy.
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Thursday, March 20, 2025
“World Storytelling Day” with Dr. Laura Ammon and Dr. Anna Cremaldi
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Dr. Laura Ammon, professor of religious studies, will speak about mythological stories. Myths may not be reliable accounts of what transpired many centuries ago, but oftentimes, she suggests, they lend unexpected insights into how people understood the world. is a specialist of the colonial past, looking at how our ancestors understood their world and how that continues to affect our modern understanding of race and religion. Dr. Ammon's publications include Religion in Sixteenth-Century Mexico: A Guide to Aztec and Catholic Beliefs and Practices, published by Cambridge University Press.
Dr. Anna Cremaldi, associate professor of philosophy, is a specialist of Ancient Greek philosophy. Her publications include journal articles such as “Aristotle on Benefaction and Self-Love.” Stories play a key role in shaping our beliefs, but what is the difference between a persuasive story and a coercive one? According to Dr. Cremaldi, Plato’s Republic offers a compelling answer to this question.
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Tuesday, April 15, 2025
“Chatbots: Moral and Religious Perspectives” with Dr. Christopher Bartel and Dr. Randall Reed
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Dr. Christopher Bartel, professor of philosophy, will give a talk titled “The Wrongness of Abusing Replika.” Dr. Bartel's research focuses on video games, the philosophy of music, philosophy of technology and media ethics. His book, Aesthetics and Video Games, is forthcoming from Bloomsbury Press.
Dr. Randall Reed, professor of religious studies, will give a talk titled “The Changing of the Gods: AI, Religion and Chatbots.” Dr. Reed researches artificial intelligence and virtual reality and explores the ways in which religious values and concerns inform technological advances. His publications include journal articles such as “The Theology of GPT-2: Religion and Artificial Intelligence.”
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The series is free and open to the public. For more information, visit hchumanities.appstate.edu or contact Dr. Darci Gardner, director of High Country Humanities, by email at gardnerdl1@appstate.edu or by phone at (828) 262-2928.
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About High Country Humanities
High Country Humanities at Appalachian State University aims to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the humanities across the High Country region of North Carolina. The program supports faculty in their scholarly activities, promotes their collaborations with community partners and organizes events that help their expertise reach the wider public. High Country Humanities is an initiative of App State’s College of Arts and Sciences, with support from the Division of Academic Affairs. Learn more at hchumanities.appstate.edu.
About the Department of Philosophy and Religion
The Department of Philosophy and Religion invites students to explore the world, examine beliefs, understand a diversity of worldviews, and challenge the ideas and values that instruct our lives. The department offers a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies, as well as a minor in both of these areas. Learn more at philrel.appstate.edu.
Appalachian State University's High Country Humanities—in collaboration with the Department of Philosophy and Religion—is pleased to present “Philosophy and Religious Studies in the Contemporary World,” a series of four presentations by App State faculty members throughout the Spring 2025 semester.
Appalachian State University's High Country Humanities—in collaboration with the Department of Philosophy and Religion—is pleased to present “Philosophy and Religious Studies in the Contemporary World,” a series of four presentations by App State faculty members throughout the Spring 2025 semester.