Sunday, September 30, 2007 SCHOOL THE POST PAGES Dr. Stevan L. Davies stands atop a hillside overlooking Monte Alban. in Mexico He's passionate about his studies Stevan L. Davies, Ph.D. has Qi along the shores of the ead Sea, climbed 10,000 feet to explore cloud forests in Benito Juarez National Park, savored rare encounters during a South African safari and trekked through Tikal’s dense jungles to reach ancient Mayan ruins all while researching the complex and diverse religions and cultur- es of the world. His adventurous experiences aside, Davies is a self-proclaimed naturalist who passionately stud- ies everything from ferns to or- chids and wildebeests to sea tur- tles while hiking untamed lands ® Mexico, Honduras and other In teresting foreign destinations. His musical play list reflects his globetrotting nature, as popular ethnic music from India and Bra- zil oftentimes plays softly in his dimly lit office. Davies’ eclectic nature is also fully displayed on his office walls where images of Buddha and the Arhats comple- ment an icon of the Blessed Mother and other religious sym- bols. A Back Mountain resident, Da- vies shares these divergent epi- sodes in his life with his religious studies students at Misericordia University and through his six academic books and his appear- ances on international television documentaries. One common theme is woven throughout his explorations, writings and teachings: He is con- stantly intrigued by Catholicism and the distinct cultures and reli- gions of the world. “Professors and scholars need & keep themselves intellectually 1 live by trying and learning new things,” Davies said. “Lifelong learning is a goal for our students and should be a goal for our- selves, too. We can’t just keep re- hashing what we learned in grade school. “I was able to create a course on Mesoamerican culture through journeying and reading I've done in recent years focusing on an area I never studied for an advanced degree. I've discovered that if you look for them carefully, opportunities for summer travel and learning are almost always available through the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Freeman Foundation and oth- er sources, including our own Mi- sericordia University,” Davies added. This summer the professor built upon his worldly experienc- es by participating in The Com- munity College Humanities As- sociation’s 2007 Summer Insti- te, “Oaxaca: Crossroads of a Jontinent,” along with 23 other colleagues from two- and four- year colleges and universities in the United States. It was funded by the National Endowment for “Lifelong learning is a goal for our students and should be a goal for ourselves, too. We can't just keep rehashing what we learned in grade school.” Stevan L. Davies, Ph.D. the Humanities (NEH). The July 1-Aug. 1 learning ex- pedition introduced educators to the region’s significant archeo- logical sites and the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples’ native cultures and religions. Some of the world’s leading au- thors and experts directed the daily excursions and roundtable discussions, including archeolo- gist Marcus Winter who excavat- ed the pre-Columbian Zapotec civilization at Monte Alban. Today’s Oaxaca is a paradox, pitting the past against the pre- sent and future. Indigenous peo- ple and special interest groups wrestle — sometimes violently — with preserving their ances- tors’ beliefs and practices while attempting to simultaneously join the 21st century. “It’s a contradiction to main- tain the ancient culture and lan- guage and also decide to have a decent income and modern life,” Dr. Davies said. “You can’t really expect to do both, they’re incom- patible. “There have been many at- tempts to make a local craft in- dustry, but the problem is they are tourist based. The political struggle is destroying the tou- rism industry,” he added. “It is a local problem, but last year the main city (City of Oaxaca) was taken over by revolutionaries, and first-world tourists want to relax and certainly not be in the presence of Molotov cocktails. “There was no real violence when we were there but there was always a threat of it. The re- sult is the indigenous people are poorer because they cannot get their products to tourists. Ironi- cally, the struggle to benefit the indigenous people has ended up doing them considerable eco- nomic harm,” Davies added. Ten years ago, Davies partici- pated in a similar institute that was funded by NEH. He studied Mayan culture and archeological sites in Guatemala, Honduras and Yucatan, Mexico, and incor- porated those lessons into a course at Misericordia Universi- ty. His latest educational adven- ture will also benefit Misericor- dia’s students by enabling the ex- pansion of that course to include new material and new regions for Dr. Stevan L. Davies, right, poses for a picture with Marcus Winter, chief of Oaxacan archaeology at Monte Alban. study. Dr. Davies holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a doctorate in philosophy from Temple University. He has taught religion at Mi- sericordia for 29 years. During that time, he has been featured in six nationally televised docu- mentaries and has published six books, including “The Secret Book of John Annotated and Ex- plained.” He has appeared on the Discov- ery Channel's “Ancient Evi- dence” series and was featured in a one-hour documentary, “The Miracles of Jesus,” that was pro- duced by the BBC. National Geographic utilized his expertise for a documentary that delved into Jesus’ medical techniques after Dr. Davies pub- lished, “Jesus the Healer: Posses- sion, Trance, and the Origins of Christianity,” in 1995. The cable network, Arts & En- tertainment had him appear twice to discuss Jesus’ disciples and offer insight into Satan as he is depicted in The New Testa- ment. TOUGH EQUIPMENT. 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