Renowned author and New York Times commentator David Brooks will deliver the 2024 Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought at UVA: the anchor event of an in person and livestreamed community-wide, intergenerational experience.
On Sunday, April 21, David Brooks will speak on the topic “Know Better: Deepening the Bonds of Communal Life” drawing on his book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen and exploring his sources in Christian thought. The academic lecture will illuminate Brooks’s foundational work on the complexities and urgencies of living well in a democratic society.
Melody Barnes, Executive Director of UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, will then join Brooks onstage to investigate the implications of Brooks’s premise that “there is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person...or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood.”
The onstage lecture and conversation will be framed by music from The Porter’s Gate, a sacred ecumenical arts collective whose projects include “Neighbor Songs” and “Table Songs.”
The Charlottesville Welcome Table
Sunday, April 21, 4:45pm-5:45pm | Amphitheater | free
Calling all Scoper Lecture guests to enjoy the Charlottesville Welcome Table reception: a special event in the UVA Amphitheater. Gather with us for warm conversations and delicious homemade pie. Let’s reflect on the keynote, practice the art of listening, and turn strangers into friends to deepen the bonds of community.
“Leap of Faith” Filmmaker Conversation
Monday, April 22, 10am-11am | Dome Room | free
Award-winning director Nicholas Ma will speak with UVA’s Chief Creative O cer Matt Weber as he presents exclusive glimpses of his forthcoming film, “Leap of Faith,” a documentary following pastors who test the power of Christ’s call to love God and neighbor — even across deep di erences. Ma’s earlier film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” explored the life of Mr. Rogers.
“The Stories That Shape Us: How Sharing Experience Fosters Connection” Monday, April 22, 11am-12pm | Dome Room | free
A panel featuring
Jocelyn Diaz, career film and television executive at Disney, HBO and ABC TV, and executive producer of House of the Dragon
Greg Khalil, co-founder of peacemaking nonprofit Telos and founding member of Narrative 4, a story-centered educational initiative
Ian Solomon, dean of UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, committed to negotiation and conflict resolution
Gayle Jessup White, Monticello’s public relations and community engagement o cer and author of Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Je erson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy
moderated by Anne Snyder, editor-in-chief of Comment magazine hosted by Sheri Winston, associate director for the UVA Rotunda and Major Events with a “flash” story by Abdallah Aljerjawi, UVA nursing student
Book Discussion Guide
Get the conversation started with our free discussion guide to How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, created by the team at Theological Horizons. Find it on our website.
At Theological Horizons, we create communal and individual experiences that bring together rich intellectual ideas with an immediate practice of attention and compassion, drawing on the riches of Christian thought – that we trust will yield a measure of personal and spiritual knowing, even as we stand, quite literally, amidst the complex legacy of one of America’s greatest Universities.
The Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought is an annual series that brings eminent speakers to the university to deliver public lectures exploring the breadth of Christian expression in the arenas of scholarship, science and medicine, the arts, and culture. The series is an initiative of Theological Horizons, a community-campus not-for-pro t, in partnership with The Project on Lived Theology at UVA.