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Richard Wood of the University of New Mexico provides the keynote address as scholars, activists and faith communities explore the ways in which religion is involved in efforts to achieve immigrant social justice.
Presentations address themes such as the relationship between race, religion and nation; the reliance on scripture, spiritual and religious symbolism in struggles for identity, and in shaping advocates’ commitments and actions; the ability of religious institutions to provide resources for immigrant and refugee well-being; and the multiple ways in which religion can promote political and civic engagement in immigrant communities.
Wood, an associate professor of sociology, focuses on the institutional, organizational and cultural underpinnings of democratic life. He is the author of “Faith in Action: Religion, Race, and Democratic Organizing in America” in which he compares two models for non-partisan political organizing by Hispanic, African American and white residents of poor, working class, and middle class urban neighborhoods – one based on an appeal to ethnic identity, the other based on an appeal to religious commitment.
Wood's book is available through the USC Pertusati Bookstore.
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