Lecture to address 'Faith, Death, and Freedom on the Arizona Frontier'

The Arizona-Mexico border serves as a national and international spotlight for discussions about border issues and illegal immigration. A wide variety of activists, ranging from No More Deaths to anti-immigrant militia groups like the Minutemen, have mobilized to address what they see as injustices occurring at the border.

Luis Cabrera will address these issues in a free public lecture, titled “Faith, Death, and Freedom on the Arizona Frontier.” The talk is scheduled to take place at noon, Jan. 21, in West Hall, room 135, on ASU’s Tempe campus.

In his talk, Cabrera will explore what he calls the “practice of global civil disobedience.” This term refers to actions taken by migrants and Samaritan groups assisting with border crossings as a way of challenging national boundaries. Cabrera will highlight the religious motivations, perspectives and organizations of those that aid unauthorized immigration into the U.S., as well as those opposed to such work.

“Cabrera’s case study of unauthorized migrants, activists and migration officials at the Arizona-Mexican border provides a remarkably illuminating lens for reflecting on the idea of global citizenship in the 21st century,” says Linell Cady, director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict.

“It takes us from the abstractions of theorizing about global citizenship to the challenges and possibilities of its enactment in our time.”

Cabrera is a political scientist and the author of "The Practice of Global Citizenship," which won the International Studies Association’s Yale H. Ferguson Award, and "Political Theory of Global Justice." He is a leading theorist examining emerging ways of thinking about democratic global citizenship and cosmopolitanism.

Currently an associate professor in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, Cabrera served as an assistant professor of political science at ASU’s West campus from 2002-2007.

Cabrera’s talk is part of “Conversations at the Center,” a colloquium series that stimulates cross-disciplinary conversation on theoretical and methodological issues in the study of religion and conflict. Past presenters have included Sophia McClennen, Asef Bayat, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd and Bruce Lincoln.

Cabrera’s visit to campus is part of a project on religion and global citizenship supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. In addition to his talk, he will also be speaking to several classes and meeting with faculty during his visit.

For more information, please see the event page.

The Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict is a research unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that examines the role of religion as a driving force in human affairs.

Written by Terry Shoemaker