Denison University's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa will host visiting scholar Bernard McGinn in an All-Campus Convocation at 4:30 p.m., Monday (Oct. 17) in Higley Auditorium. McGinn will speak on "Why Monasticism Matters" during his visit, which also is sponsored by the Academic Lecture Fund. Admission is free and open to the public.

At the convocation, McGinn will explore the history of monasticism, a form of virtuoso religious life characterized by asceticism, separation from the world, and contemplation of God, and the impact that monasticism has had on the history of Christianity. In addition to the public lecture, McGinn will be speaking to two Denison classes, meeting informally with students and faculty, and giving a faculty lunch presentation on Tuesday (Oct. 18).

McGinn is widely regarded as the preeminent scholar of mysticism in the Western Christian tradition. He is currently completing a five-volume history of Christian mysticism in the west under the general titleThe Presence of God, four volumes of which have already appeared. McGinn also has written extensively on Jewish mysticism, the history of apocalyptic thought, and medieval Christianity.

He is the Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he taught from 1969 until 2003. Trained in theology and in medieval history, he was a member of both the theology and history of Christianity areas in the Divinity School, and also served as adjunct professor in the department of history. McGinn is a fellow of the Medieval Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has served as president of the American Society of Church History and of the American Catholic Historical Association.

McGinn's visit is a part of the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars Program, which makes available each year 12 or more distinguished scholars who visit 100 colleges and universities with chapters of Phi Beta Kappa. The purpose of the program is to contribute to the intellectual life of the institution by making possible an exchange of ideas between the visiting scholars and the resident faculty and students. Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest academic honor society. It has chapters at 270 colleges and universities and has more than 600,000 members.

CALENDAR INFORMATION: Denison University,Denison will host Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholar Bernard McGinn in an All-Campus Convocation titled "Why Monasticism Matters"; 4:30 p.m., Monday (Oct. 17) in Higley Auditorium. Free and open to the public. Please call (740) 587-6251 for more information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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