{"id":2430,"date":"2025-06-01T23:35:55","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T06:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/si\/?page_id=2430"},"modified":"2025-06-29T18:33:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T01:33:29","slug":"afternoon-seminars","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/si\/program\/afternoon-seminars\/","title":{"rendered":"Afternoon Seminars"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Afternoon Seminars<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Home<\/a> |<\/span> Page<\/span><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Where friendships deepen and ideas come alive<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Increasing Understanding in Community<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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To help us plan effectively, we ask that you register<\/strong> for the one seminar you wish to attend. Those attending the full conference will receive an email on June 11, 2025 with a link to register for their choice of afternoon seminar.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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On three afternoons during the conference, participants join small-group seminars led by scholars, artists, and thinkers across a range of disciplines. These sessions offer a space for deeper discussion, hands-on learning, and shared discovery in the spirit of C.S. Lewis\u2019s intellectual curiosity.<\/p>

The afternoon seminars are mini-courses that take place in three parts, over three days of the event. Attendees will chose one seminar that they will attend on all three days<\/strong>, with the same group of fellow attendees.<\/p>

Note that those participating in the Academic Roundtable<\/strong> are automatically signed up for all three days of the Roundtable sessions and do not select a choice of seminars.<\/p>

Please browse all of our Seminar Leaders and their topics below to get a better idea of what\u2019s being offered.<\/p>

(Listed in alphabetical order by last name)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson\n<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sufficient Notice<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Honouring Lewis by MacDonalding <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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C.S. Lewis once asserted: <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him<\/span><\/span> [George MacDonald] as my master; <\/span>indeed<\/span> I fancy I have never <\/span>written<\/span> a book in which I did not quote from him. But it has not seemed to me that those who have received my books kindly take even now sufficient notice of the affiliation. Honesty drives me to emphasize it.” <\/span><\/span><\/p>

Many Lewis scholars continue to trivialize Lewis\u2019 repeated recommendations to spend considered time in the works of MacDonald, of whom he wrote<\/span><\/span>:<\/span><\/span> \u201cto speak plainly I know hardly any other writer who seems to be closer, or more continually close, to the Spirit of Christ Himself.\u201d For some it is because they were stymied when they picked up <\/span><\/span>Phantastes<\/span><\/span><\/em>, and then never got further. But Lewis spent time with the full variety of MacDonald\u2019s corpus: essays, sermons, novels, short stories\u2026he even read MacDonald\u2019s epic poem <\/span><\/span>Diary of an Old Soul<\/span><\/span><\/em> as a nightly devotion. Shared appreciation <\/span>of MacDonald\u2019s writings was a touchpoint with friends \u2013 such as Tolkien, Barfield, Greaves, Warnie, Joy \u2013 and even in the last year of his life Lewis was publicizing MacDonald\u2019s influence upon him. <\/span><\/span><\/p>

In this seminar we will overview MacDonald\u2019s biography<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> dive into some of the works that Lewis loved best, have fun finding resonances and borrowings<\/span><\/span>, and<\/span><\/span> discuss why Lewis and others find MacDonald’s writings transformative.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Andrew Lazo<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Unveiling 'Till We Have Faces'<\/em><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Exploring the Mysteries of Lewis\u2019s \u201cBest Book\u201d <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In his letters, C.S. Lewis often refers to his last novel, <\/span><\/span>Till We Have Faces<\/span><\/span><\/em>, as \u201cmy best book.\u201d But why? For the last twenty years, <\/span>And<\/span>rew<\/span> Lazo has been digging deeply into this \u201cMyth Retold,\u201d <\/span>and<\/span> he is currently writing a definitive study of the novel. <\/span>And<\/span>rew<\/span>\u2019s research not only supports <\/span>and<\/span> explains Lewis\u2019s claim for this book as his \u201cbest,\u201d it opens the way to underst<\/span>and<\/span>ing what has <\/span>remained<\/span> in some ways deeply <\/span>puzzling to<\/span> readers for decades. <\/span><\/span><\/p>

In three highly-interactive sessions (all questions delightedly welcomed), <\/span>And<\/span>rew<\/span> will show how <\/span><\/span>Till We Have Faces<\/span><\/span><\/em> contains themes <\/span>and<\/span> references from all his other work, how it helps us see Lewis\u2019s main theme more clearly, <\/span>and<\/span> how in Orual\u2019s account of spiritual searching we find our own stories of God\u2019s love in our lives.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Christin Ditchfield Lazo<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Story Behind Your Story<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What Narnia Can Teach You About Your Spiritual Journey <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Journey through the seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia and discover how each adventure can serve as inspiration for our own spiritual transformation. From Lucy’s first steps through the wardrobe to the final scenes in which the Friends of Narnia enter Aslan’s Country, we’ll explore how Lewis\u2019s stories illuminate different steps and stages of spiritual growth \u2014 from initial awakening to redemption to costly discipleship, and finally, the ultimate returning home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This interactive seminar explores the recurring theme of spiritual journey woven throughout Lewis’s beloved series and reveals how these fabulous adventures mirror the patterns of our own faith development. Through guided reflection and discussion, participants will go \u201cfurther up and further in\u201d \u2014 identifying their current spiritual seasons, recognizing pivotal moments in their personal stories, and gaining fresh perspectives on their own roots and transformation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Amy Baik Lee\n<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Honoring the Givenness of Our Lives as Sub-creators<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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C.S. Lewis\u2019s inability to participate in team sports, J. R. R. Tolkien\u2019s familial losses in childhood, Susanna Clarke\u2019s chronic illness: the lives of many beloved authors have been marked by distinct limitations. Often the connection between limitations and legacies in others\u2019 lives seems clear to us, but what about in our own? What might happen when we explore the idea that limitations can serve as provisional boundaries for the work God has for us to do?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This seminar will weave stories of authors and poets with guided time to examine where the lines have fallen in our lives. We will make space for unhurried reflection and companionable discussion to not only acknowledge our limitations, but consider what advantages those limitations might already be giving us for the work we are called to do creatively\u2014whether through art, hobbies, or the everyday tasks of our lives. What clues, insights, and encouragement can be gathered from the shape of the canvas God has given each one of us?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Andrew Roycroft<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Close and Slow<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Lasting Roots of Poetry<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Session 1: Close and Slow: how poetry finds roots in us and for us<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This opening seminar will look at the \u2018close and slow\u2019 nature of poetry, and the ways in which its countercultural emphasis on taking our time and waiting on meaning can endow our lives with rootedness and depth. Using some interactive examples alongside reflections on the nature of poetic work, attendees will be encouraged to think about ways in which poetry can counter our sense of dislocation and exile as modern people.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Session 2: Seamus Heaney: \u2018When my roots were crossed with my reading\u2019<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Rootedness is at the heart of Seamus Heaney, as a man and as a poet. In this session, we will consider how home and belonging oriented Heaney\u2019s vision of the world, and how that sense of connection works in our lives as we encounter and enjoy his poetry.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Session 3: Louis MacNeice: \u2018Rinsing the choked mud, keeping the colours new\u2019<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Louis MacNeice was a poet who lived between significant spaces (Ireland and England) and times (peace and war). Born in Belfast nine years after C.S. Lewis and dying two months before him, MacNeice is a case study in the search for belonging and rootedness in the wake of trauma and displacement. This seminar will examine these themes, alongside the Belfast that MacNeice and Lewis shared, and will connect with our own experiences of dislocation and upheaval.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Lancia E. Smith<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Longing as Leading<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Unexpected Guide to the Life You Are Made For<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It is a universal mark of being human that we need, desire<\/em>, hunger, and ache for things we do not have. We are creatures of longing <\/em>from our first breath to our last. Some longing is as simple as basic hunger, some as complex as longing for a specific someone to love; and some longing is infinitely more nuanced. But all<\/em> longing leads<\/u>. The question is to where or to whom? What does longing tell us about the nature of God and His plans for us?<\/p>

\u201cThe whole life of the good Christian is a holy longing \u2026 that is our life, to be trained by longing.\u201d <\/em>\u2015 Saint Augustine<\/em><\/p>

C.S. Lewis was never shy to talk about longing. In his chapter titled, \u201cHope\u201d in Mere Christianity<\/em>, he says there are three ways of dealing with longing \u2013 two that are wrong and one that is right: The Fools\u2019 Way, The Disillusioned Way, and the Christian Way. In these seminar sessions we will look at these three ways, discuss how to discern and identify them in ourselves, and consider how to honour our holy longing for what it tells us about our identity, our calling, and the promise carried in it. \u00a0<\/p>

Recommended reading beforehand:<\/strong><\/p>