Baylor's Honors College Welcomes Noted C.S. Lewis Scholar to Discuss 'Chronicles of Narnia'

Media contact: Paige Patton
Baylor University Media Relations
(254) 710-3321 or Paige_Patton@baylor.edu

Baylor University's Honors College will host Dr. Michael Ward, acclaimed C.S. Lewis scholar and author of "Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis," who will speak at 3 p.m. Friday, April 18, in the Alexander Reading Room of the Honors Residential College on campus.

"The main focus of Ward's groundbreaking research is the role that medieval views of the cosmos play in shaping the structure of C.S. Lewis' 'Narnia' chronicles," said Dr. Sarah-Jane Murray, assistant professor of medieval literature and French in the Honors College. "His lecture will synthesize this research and suggest important implications for modern readings of Lewis' work."

Ward, an Anglican clergyman, writer and speaker, is currently on an international book tour that is drawing both avid C.S. Lewis readers, as well as academic scholars to his speaking engagements, Murray said.

"Ward is one of the foremost C.S. Lewis scholars of our time. Students, faculty and members of the Waco community will benefit not only from hearing about what Ward has to say about Lewis and Narnia, they will have the opportunity to meet him in person and pursue one-on-one conversations during the reception," she said.

The event is free and open to the public. Ward will be available for a book signing and reception immediately following the event in Alexander Hall. He also will be meeting with students throughout the day, both at a private lunch and tea hosted by members of the Honors Residential College preceding the lecture.

Murray said Ward's expertise is unparalleled. "As chaplain of Peterhouse College at the University of Cambridge, Ward is keenly aware of the spiritual and religious dimensions of Lewis' great classic," she said.

Ward is the co-editor of Heresies and How to Avoid Them. He has contributed to such books as Christ and Culture in Dialogue, and Lightbearer in the Shadowlands: The Evangelistic Vision of C.S. Lewis. He earned his undergraduate degree from Oxford University, his master's degree in theology from the University of Cambridge, and his doctorate from St. Andrews University in Scotland. He is a noted Lewis scholar, and has served the Lewis Society as the resident warden and curator of Lewis's Oxford home, The Kilns, where he lived for three years. He has spoken on Lewis, the theological imagination, The Inklings, and other topics as an international speaker. Ward resides in the United Kingdom.

For more information, contact Murray at SJ_Murray@baylor.edu. Murray is also Faculty Master of the Honors Residential College. Like Lewis, she also was born in Northern Ireland.