Beatrice Marovich, writer and academic who teaches in the department of theology at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind., will deliver the Beck Lecture at Southwestern College on Wednesday, March 1, at 5 p.m. in Messenger Auditorium in the Darbeth Fine Arts Center. The public is invited to attend and there is no admission charge. 

The title of her lecture is “Sister Death: Living and Dying According to Philosophy, Religion and Science.”

“I am a writer and a scholar, who studies religious and philosophical ideas,” Marovich says. “I come at this work from an irreverent position. This means that I don’t identify with, or defend, any particular religious viewpoint. But I also recognize that as an American, religious traditions (especially Christianity) are at work in our cultures, our politics, and the way we understand who and what we are in subtle and often subterranean ways.”

Jacob Goodson, associate professor of philosophy at Southwestern College, is looking forward to this lecture.

“We are excited to host Dr. Beatrice Marovich and to celebrate the publication of her first book, ‘Sister Death: Political Theologies for Living and Dying’ (Columbia University Press, 2023). The phrase sister death comes from the work of St. Francis of Assissi, and Dr. Marovich's book addresses the question: is death a friend or an enemy? In her talk at SC, she will consider this question from the perspectives of philosophy, religion, and the natural sciences,” Goodson says.

The Beck lectureship, funded by Paul V. Beck to explore topics relating to science and religion, is an annual event on campus and brings in theologians, scientists, and philosophers from across the nation. 

For more information about the Beck Lecture, email Goodson at Jacob.Goodson@sckans.edu.