Keynote Speaker: Dr. Peter Rollins
Peter Rollins is a sought-after writer, philosopher, lecturer, and coordinator of the experimental faith collective Ikon in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His primary philosophical interests lie in the area of continental philosophy of religion, phenomenology and post-modernism. His newest book, The Orthodox Heretic: and Other Impossible Tales (Paraclete Press), was released this past April.
Bill Mallonee & Vigilantes of Love
Bill Mallonee has been called “one of the top 100 living songwriters” by Paste Magazine. Mallonee, the lyrical and musical source behind the Americana indie band Vigilantes of Love, started playing music in the late 80’s. His early work was inspired by the post-punk-pop of XTC, Joy Division, the Clash, and Echo and the Bunnymen. Still, his deeper love for Dylan, Neil Young and other artists and writers of the “American experience” left an indelible mark on his writing and vocal delivery.
Joseph Frost: Playwright/Actor
Joseph Frost is a playwright, director, and actor living in Jackson, Mississippi. Frost has won awards for his writing for both stage (The Great Play) and screen (The Heart of Saturday Night). His play Anathema was selected as a part of Square Top Repertory Theatre’s 2009 New Works Festival, and his plays were the feature of the 2005 Malone College Playwright’s Showcase. He is the Chair of Theatre at Belhaven College and the founding artistic director of the Floodlight Theatre Company.
Void Collective
VOID is an experimental faith collective in Waco, Texas, involving a live mix of art, poetry, ritual, storytelling, personal reflections, and musical performance. Creating provocative and experiential events, VOID is marked by the religious question but remains radically open and non-confessional.
Leaving Denton
Leaving Denton is a rock band from Dallas, TX, whose music ranges in style from indie rock to alt.country. With several vocalists and diverse instrumentation, the five-piece band explores themes from life to the afterlife and the relationships that happen along the way.
Dr. Cassandra Falke: Literature & Critical Theory
Cassandra is an Assistant Professor of English at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. She is the editor of Intersections in Christianity and Critical Theory (forthcoming: Palgrave/Macmillan), the author of A Mote in the Eye of Literature: Working-Class Autobiography in the Early Nineteenth Century, and a committed teacher.
Dr. Warren Langford: Textual Criticism and Biblical Languages
Warren currently serves as minister of youth at First United Methodist Church in New Iberia, Louisiana. His primary interest is the connection of art and text in ancient New Testament Greek manuscripts. He was one of the designers of the CNTTS Greek New Testament Textual Apparatus as well as a continual contributor to the publication. He has spent the last 4 years working with post-Katrina/Rita churches in south Louisiana.
Graeme Lowry: Film & Installation Art
Graeme is a native New Mexican who has lived and worked in Los Angeles for the past five years. His various post-production jobs on such reality TV gems as “The Simple Life,” “Road Rules,” “Dress My Nest,” “Miss America,” & MTV’s “Damage Control” have lead him to believe Hollywood thinks Americans are stupid. Graeme believes as individuals we aren’t, but collectively we might be. He’s a filmmaker and a storyteller, or at least that’s what his therapist tells him he is.
Dr. Justin McBrayer: Philosophy of Religion
Justin is a philosopher from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He works in a wide variety of areas including philosophy of religion, epistemology, and both applied and meta ethics. His published work has been featured in a number of journals including Philosophical Studies, Faith & Philosophy, and Bioethics.
Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton: Photography & Mixed Media
Beka is a visual artist and an educator. She works as a freelance photographer and designer and teaches visual art at Pagosa Springs High School in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Her book, Broken Cycles (Shechem Press, 2007), is a collaboration between poetry and the photographic image. Beka’s work has been shown at galleries in Durango, CO; Pagosa Springs, CO; Moscow, ID; Plainview, TX; and Marshall, TX.
Check out other Matter ‘09 contributing artists & scholars.
