Case Study Bath Spa University Religions & Beliefs Forum

I was awarded £400 from the Interfaith Initiatives Grant in November 2012, which was due to go towards organising four different public talks. Two of these have thus far been completed, with a further two expected to happen over the course of the next five weeks. The two talks that were organised were both based on very contemporary issues for students at Bath Spa University. The first talk, entitled 'Spirituality & Psychedelics', was very popular amongst students, and likewise very well-received. It tackled an issue that was very contemporary amongst students, of drug usage, and debated whether such usage could be done in a spiritual manner. I gave Andy Letcher, the speaker for this talk (who I knew from him having previously given a guest lecture at the university when I was in my first year), £60 for travel costs/expenses. The second talk, entitled 'Rastafari: An African Enlightenment Project', likewise was popular amongst students but also the wider community, and tied in strongly with a few other events in the same week in support of Fairfield House, a centre for the Rastafari community in Britain. It promoted the fact that the house, located in a suburb of Bath, holds a great significance to the Rastafari community and also holds prominence in the heritage of the city of Bath. Likewise, a deep review of the Rastafari history was given by the speaker, Tony Tafari of the Rastafari Council of Britain, as to display to the audience of how much depth there is to the Rastafari tradition. I gave Tony Tafari £100 to cover travel costs/expenses, and he assured me that an excess would be donated towards Fairfield House. The two further talks that are planned are as follows: The first is a two-part series led by Professor Brian Victoria, of Antioch University. He will give a lecture on 'Japanese Buddhism in the Third Reich', followed by leading a screening of the film 'Zen And War' the following evening. The second talk is planned to be entitled 'Ecology & Faith', and will act as a conference for all faith leaders and the general public in and around Bath to discuss how faith groups are looking at ecological issues, and potentially to arrange a unified ecological plan for the future based on what works best on an interfaith basis. £100 has been set aside for each of these two talks, but final amounts provided have yet to be negotiated. The grant has also allowed for myself to print off many more posters for the regular daytime Religions & Beliefs Forum events that I have had throughout the year, thus enabling the talks to gain a much greater publicity than previously, when I had been more restricted in my printing allowance.

Talk #1: 'Psychedelics & Spirituality'

Poster (designed by Simon Antrobus in Bath Spa Students' Union):

Andy Letcher, lecturer in the Study of Religions department at Oxford Brookes University and writer of the book Shrooms, gave an evening lecture to a lecture hall full of students and non-students on Thursday 29th November 2012. He covered the historical, mythological, and contemporary background behind psychedelic usage, in particular reference to how it links in with spirituality. The feedback from the talk was overwhelmingly positive.40 people attended the talk, which was filmed but the film is still waiting to be edited (which will happen once the academic year is over), and may be published when it is ready. Photos from the talk are currently unavailable, but will be sent on once they become available.

Talk #2: 'Rastafari: An African Enlightenment Project'

Poster (designed by myself):

Description: Tony Tafari of the Rastafari Council of Britain gave a lecture entitled 'Rastafari: An African Enlightenment Project'. This talk was of unique importance to Bath Spa University because Fairfield House, which is the most major Rastafari pilgrimage spot in Europe, is in Newbridge, Bath. Tony Tafari spoke a little of the importance of Fairfield House to the Rastafari community (Heile Salassie lived in the house for 5 years whilst in exile in the 1930s), but delved mainly into the historical background behind the African Enlightenment of the 20th Century. About 35 people, including a local Councillor and several members of the Rastafari community, attended the talk. The talk acted also as a fundraiser for Fairfield House, and was followed by another fundraiser in a roots reggae dance at a club in town that was organised by another student officer from Bath Spa Students' Union. The talk was filmed, but has yet to be edited. It will be published after it is edited.

Photos:

Tony Tafari, towards the beginning of his 90-minute lecture.

Chris Leigh (left), who gave a 15-minute introduction to the Rastafari involvements at Fairfield House prior to the arrival of the Rastafari Council of Britain.

Tony Tafari, coming towards the crux of the lecture.

Future talks: 2-part series by Prof. Brian Victoria of Antioch University.

Part 1 – 'Japanese Buddhism in the Third Reich' public lecture on Tuesday 14th May 2013.

Poster (designed by myself):

Part 2 – 'Zen And War' public film screening on Wednesday 15th May 2013.

Poster (designed by myself):

Planned public talk/conference on 'Ecology and Faith' led by Muzammal Hussain (of eco- Islam group Wisdom In Nature). This would happen in the first week of June 2013, and would invite all representatives of faith groups across the region into openly discussing how they engage with ecological issues, and whether greater incentives and movements are needed. This talk is still in the planning stages, but it is planned for the talk to take place in the Friends' Meeting House in the Bath city centre, as to attract the widest possible turnout from the general public.