Category: Travel

“The Rise of Authoritarianism” – Sakharov Conference in Vilnius, Lithuania

I had the great opportunity to participate in the Sixteenth International Sakharov Conference in Vilnius Lithuania, on May 21-22. Organized by Robert van Voren, this conference brought together activists, NGOs, diplomats, dissidents, academics, and other government officials, to discuss the ongoing rise of authoritarianism, especially in the West, as well as the war of aggression launched by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine. With the subject title, “Fifty years after the founding of the Helsinki Movement,” we discussed the democratic dissident movement that fought for human rights during the Soviet period. My discussion of the psycho-dynamics of Trump’s authoritarianism came under the section on “The Current Political Climate.” I was joined on stage by Janet Anderson (UK), George Kent (USA), Margarita Å eÅ¡elgytÄ— (Lithuania), Hans Brask (Denmark), and Helmer Krane (Germany). We had a wonderful meet-and-greet at the Norwegian embassy in Vilnius; we watched the film, “To the Success of our Hopeless Cause,” about dissidents during the Soviet period at the Czech Embassy in Vilnius, and heard an amazing concert by Alexey Botvinov (Odesa, Ukraine) in memory of Semyon Gluzman, who recently passed away. For all intents and purposes, Gluzman was a force to be reckoned with, as was well displayed by those who attended the conference who knew and loved him. His spirit was with us even though his physical presence was not. Overall, this was an amazing opportunity and experience and I thank Robert van Voren for inviting me to participate. I hope my meager contribution was meaningful.

While in Vilnius, I did two media interviews on top of the one I already did while I was in Rome. Here’s the first of three (In Lithuanian): Trump is a Psychopath.

During my free time, I explored The Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, located inside of the former KGB building in Vilnius. The prison cells in the basement were disturbing, as was the execution room, where thousands of dissidents were murdered. I also visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus of Vilnius, the main Catholic Cathedral in Vilnius. I also explored the history of Vilnius and Lithuanian Christianity with the tour of the Basilica’s catacombs. Vilnius is a beautiful city, and its solidarity with the Ukrainian cause is admirable. Ukrainian flags were seen throughout the city, as its own memory of occupation by the Soviet Union is invoked with each missile Putin launches into Ukraine.

The conference schedule can be found here: 16th Sakharov Conference – Vilnius, Lithuania.

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The University of Olivet in Italy 2026

From April 27th to May 10th, I led a group of students and friends on a journey to Italy to study Medieval and Renaissance Christianity. We began our trip in Venice, where we studied Venetian mercantilism, the history of the Doges, as well as the history of this unique water-bound city. After visiting the Doge’s Palace, we traveled up the bell tower in St. Mark’s Square to see the city from its highest point. We took a day trip to Padua to visit the Scrovegni Chapel as well as the Basilica of San Anthony, the both of which are amazing examples of medieval religiosity. From Venice, we traveled to Florence, where we studied Dante Alighieri, Niccolò Machiavelli, Savonarola, and the Medicis. We visited the Santa Maria del Fiori, the Franciscan church of Santa Croce, the Uffizi Galleries, as well as the Galleria dell ’Accademia. By chance, while standing in line to visit the Museo di San Marco, I ran into the American travel guru, Rick Steves, with whom I had a wonderful conversation about traveling and the state of the world. He was there to update his Florence guidebook; I was there to see the martyr Savonarola, on whom I will eventually write a book. We had a wonderful concert that night of Pachelbel, Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi. Leaving Tuscany, we traveled to Assisi to study the life of St. Francis and St. Clare. This year has been declared the year of St. Francis by Pope Leo XIV, since it was 800 years ago that St. Francis died. I also met the author and longtime resident of Assisi, Mrs. Pricilla Calderini, and purchased a copy of her book, Mount Subasio: A Legend of Assisi. She is an amazing Brit-turned-Italian lady, who grew up near Oxford, but has lived in Assisi for over 60 years. Leaving Umbria, we traveled to Rome, the eternal city. While the students were all exhausted, we continued our studies, visiting the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman Forum, the Capitoline Museum, The Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. We also spent some time at the catacombs of San Callixtus. In Rome, we saw our second concert, a mix of opera arias at an Episcopal Church: St. Paul’s Within the Walls. We had wonderful guides, wonderful dinners, and wonderful conversations. Overall, we had an amazing trip, which I hope the students learned a lot from. As always, thank you Witte Travel and Tours and Kristina Choura for constructing this most amazing travel class. I look forward to teaching on the road again!

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“Critical Theory in an Age of Social Disintegration” – ICST Conference in Bristol, UK

On July 17-19, the Institute for Critical Social Theory hosted their inaugural conference at the University of Bristol, UK. I was a great honor to welcome so many scholars to the ICST event. We had thirteen presentations, two plenary addresses, and a round table discussion about critical theory during times of war (See the schedule below). We are looking forward to our next conference in 2026, with Istanbul being the agreed upon destination. Keep an eye out for that Call for Papers.

ICST 2025 Conference ScheduleDownload

If you’d like to listen to my plenary address, wherein I discuss what it means to be critical in an age of social disintegration, you can find it on YouTube:

For more information on the Institute for Critical Social Theory, please visit our website: ICST

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Islamophobia in Granada, Spain

On May 22, 2025, I had the awesome opportunity to present my work on the metaphysics of Islamophobia at the Fourth Annual International Islamophobia Studies Research Association (IISRA) Conference, which took place in the shadow of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The conference was sponsored by the Instituto de la Paz y los Conflictos (Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies) and Departments Studios Semiticos (Department of Semitic Studies), at the University of Granada. My presentation was based on my chapter in the new book, Secularism, Race, and the Politics of Islamophobia (University of Alberta Press), edited by Dr. Sharmin Sadequee. The chapter is entitled, “The Limits of the Translation Proviso: The Inherent Alien in the Willed-Community,” wherein I discussed Habermas’ “translation proviso” for Muslims in the West, its problems, and the rightwing retreat into metaphysical Islamophobia, especially in the concept of the “Volksgemeinschaft” (ethnic community), as a means of marginalizing Muslims in post-secular societies. No trip to Granada is complete without a tour of the Alhambra and the Albaicín part of the city, which is a historically Muslim part of the city. I also toured the Monastery of St. Jerome, Cartuja de Granada (Carthusian Monastery), and the Basílica Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación (Granada Cathedral), which sits on the remains of the central mosque of Granada. I also visited the Islamic madrasa (which is not a madrasa anymore) and the square in which Catholic Spaniards burned the Islamic books from the madrasa. This was an amazing conference and visit to Andalusia. I look forward to returning to visit Seville and Cordoba.

Fourth Annual International Islamophobia Studies Research Association (IISRA) ConferenceDownload

Buy the book here: Secularism, Race, and the Politics of Islamophobia.

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Institute for Critical Social Theory – Inaugural Conference, 2025

Come join the Institute for Critical Social Theory at our inaugural conference, July 17-19, 2025, at Bristol University (UK). Seyed Javad Miri and I are the plenary speakers in this three day conference. Our conference theme is “Critical Theory in an Age of Social Disintegration.” The Call for Papers is below, or visit us at the ICST website: Institute for Critical Social Theory.

ICST – Call for Papers – Bristol Conference 2025 2.0Download
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Talking Christian Nationalism in Scotland

On January 9th and 10th, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the “Whose Christianity Anyway: Theological Contestations in the Public and Political” conference at New College, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh in Scotland. My presentation was entitled, “From the Cold War to the Warm Embrace: Russian Church-State Symphonia as a Template for the Re-Christianization of the United States.” The presentation sparked an excellent conversation about the nature of Christian Nationalism, why in particular the Russian model of “Symphonia” appeals to American Christian Nationalists, and the important differences between American Christian Nationalists and the Russian Orthodox Church. Our two keynote speakers, Jan-Werner Müller (Princeton) and Mariëtta van der Tol (Cambridge), gave very insightful presentations. A big thank you goes out to Thiu Elias and Stephen Dolan for all their hard work organizing the conference, and The University of Olivet for their financial support.

Whose Christianity Schedule and SessionsDownload

On the 11th of January, I was able to spend some time in Edinburgh as a simple American tourist, seeing numerous important landmarks, such as the Edinburgh castle, Victoria Street, Greyfriars Church and Kirkyard, and St. Giles Cathedral (where old fuss-and-feathers John Knox preached). Below are some pictures from the journey.

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Genius of the German World – The University of Olivet in Germany and Austria

From April 29th through May 12th, I had the great opportunity to teach a course entitled “Genius of the German World” for The University of Olivet. We traveled to Berlin, Wittenberg, Leipzig, Weimar, Erfurt, Eisenach, Nürnberg, Vienna, Hallstatt, and Salzburg, to study great philosophers, composers, artists, religious figures, and psychoanalysts. Seven UO students, Prof. Mike Fales (Religious Studies), my friends Karen and Ken, and the great Tracey and Bryce Katz accompanied us on this amazing trip. We visited numerous museums, attended two concerts and one dinner concert, visited a variety of cathedrals and churches, one Augustinian monastery in Erfurt, and got to know many locals on our trains. The logistics of the trip were put together by Witte Travel and Tours (Grand Rapids), who did an amazing job setting up another demanding tour I designed. Below are some pictures from our journey.

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