Honors College Dean Presents Annual Film Lecture

September 13, 2010

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Dr. Thomas S. Hibbs, Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Culture and dean of the Honors College at Baylor University, will present his annual film lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, in the Alexander Reading Room on Baylor's campus. The event is free and open to the public.

This year's lecture, "Hope in Exile: Christian Art in the Ruins," will be presented in concert with the Honors College's upcoming symposium and art exhibition, Sacred Texts, Holy Images. The art exhibition begins Saturday, Sept. 25, at Baylor's Mayborn Museum.

Unlike previous years, Hibbs will lecture on art as well as film. He will discuss contemporary films, including "The Book of Eli" and how it is an example of Christian art in the ruins, before discussing the art of Georges Rouault and his "Miserere," which will be on display as a part of the exhibition.
"The sort of main question is how to think about suffering, loss, guilt and destruction in our world in such a way that we don't ignore it; we don't tell a happy story that is superficial and trite and ignores the devastation around us," Hibbs said.
The lecture is a continuation of Hibbs' 2008 book Arts of Darkness: American Noir and the Quest for Redemption.

Hibbs has written a number of other books, including Dialectic and Narrative in Aquinas: An Interpretation of the Summa Contra Gentiles; Aquinas, Ethics, and the Philosophy of Religion: Metaphysics and Practice and Shows About Nothing.

He also guest lectures at universities and high schools across America and has made more than 100 appearances on radio, including nationally syndicated NPR shows such as "The Connection," "On the Media" and "All Things Considered," as well as local NPR stations in Boston; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Dallas; and Rochester, N.Y.
In addition Hibbs has published works in Books and Culture, Christianity Today, First Things, New Atlantis, The Dallas Morning News, The National Review, The Weekly Standard and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Hibbs received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Dallas and his doctorate from the University of Notre Dame. He taught at Boston College for 13 years and joined Baylor in 2003. As dean of the Honors College, Hibbs oversees the Honors Program, the Great Texts major, University Scholars and the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core (BIC).
by Katy McDowall, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805