Friday, March 28, 2025, and Saturday, March 29, 2025
Penned in 1984 by an ecumenical group of ten deaf and hearing women and men from North America, the Claggett statement was an early expression of Deaf Liberation theology produced at a time of cultural awakening and creativity among Deaf people. This symposium spotlights this important statement on its 40th anniversary, by bringing together scholars and practitioners from the United States and beyond to examine the past, present, and future of the Claggett Statement for Deaf Christians across the world.
This symposium is co-organized by Audrey Seah (College of the Holy Cross) and Kirk VanGilder (Gallaudet University) with the support of Deaf Studies and Sign Languages, Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and the Deaf Catholic Archives, Archives and Distinctive Collections at College of the Holy Cross.
Attendance is free and open to the public. Registration opens on January 15, 2025.
All events will take place in Seelos Theatre in Kimball Hall unless otherwise noted.
VIEW THE SCHEDULE BELOW:
Parallel Programming: Deaf Catholic Archives Exhibit at Dinand Library
Pre-Event Lecture
Historiography and the Archives: Deaf History as Archival Practice
4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
R.A.R. Edwards '90, Professor of History at Rochester Institute of Technology, discusses historiography using the Deaf Catholic Archives as a model to demonstrate the opportunities and advantages, as well as the challenges and obstacles, that researchers encounter when using archival collections.
Co-sponsored with the Archives & Distinctive Collections department.
Deaf Catholic Vocations and the Claggett Statement
7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
A conversation with Fr. Shawn Carey, Archdiocese of Boston; Fr. Michael Depcik, OSFS; Minette Sternke, Diocese of Peoria; and Grace Agolia, Boston College. Moderated by Audrey Seah.
40 Years of the Claggett Statement: A Conversation With the Authors
9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
A conversation with Ella Mae Lentz, Dcn. Patrick Graybill, Rev. Susan Masters, Sheila Yoder, Bill Millar, Pamela Dintaman, Charlotte Baker-Shenk, and Fr. Ray Fleming. Moderated by Kirk VanGilder.
Liberation Theology I: Challenges & Opportunities in Unity and Difference
10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Panel presentations by Mary Jo Iozzio, Boston College; Eduardo Gonzalez, College of the Holy Cross; and Rev. Hannah Lewis, Anglican Diocese of Oxford.
Lunch: 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Liberation Theology II: Critical Perspectives
1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Panel presentations by Noah Buchholz, Princeton University; Min. Kim Veney, Howard Divinity School; William Stell, NYU; and Kirk VanGilder.
Pastoral Considerations
3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Panel presentations by Laureen Lynch-Ryan, Deaf Catholic Youth Initiative of the Americas; Brandon Gaskin, Deaf Millennial Project; and Fr. Min-Seo Park, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul, Korea.
Closing Discussion
5:15 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Park in the Hogan Campus Center visitor lot (#55 on the campus map), then walk down the exterior staircase to the right of the Hogan Campus Center. Follow the path to the right and head past Smith Hall. Proceed down the first set of stairs after Smith. At the bottom of the stairs, pass St. Joseph Chapel to your right, and follow another set of stairs entering into a quadrangle. The building facing you with the large smokestack is Kimball Hall. The entrance to Kimball Dining Hall can be found at the front of the building.
The entrance to Seelos Theater can be found on the first door on the right side of the building.
You can find Kimball Hall on the campus map (#41). In addition, if you need driving directions, you can find those here.
If you would like to book a room at a local hotel, see this page for options and discounted rates.