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Running the Rift award-winning author Naomi Benaron visits Oklahoma Christian University to speak at the ninth annual McBride Lecture.
Benaron will join the ranks amongst past distinguished McBride Lectureship speakers such as bestselling novelist Kathleen Norris, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne Robinson, to name a few.
“The McBride Lectureship is our first ongoing academic lectureship,” Jim Baird, professor of Bible and philosophy and director of the honors program, said. “What that means is that money is raised to bring a gifted scholar or artist to campus every fall to give lectures that have to do with the connection between faith and their particular subject.”
According to those who have heard previous guests speak, it’s the Christian worldview these speakers bring to their fields that interests a lot of students in the McBride lectures.
“Even though it may not be your field of study or interest, it’s always really cool to hear somebody’s Christian perspective on their field and relate it to what they do,” junior Haylie Ritchie said.
Her peers agree.
“You can read someone’s books or watch someone’s plays, but until you really get their worldview and their perspective on the world you can’t really fully appreciate their works, whatever that may be,” sophomore Garrett McCurrach said. “I think that’s what makes these lectureships special.”
Benaron’s first novel and the topic of her lecture, “Running the Rift,” received the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction in 2010. The book tells the story of a young man named Jean Patrick who aspires to become a professional athlete during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
“Social justice infuses nearly all my fiction, whether directly or indirectly, and I cannot imagine what shape my stories would take if they did not in some manner address this,” Benaron said on her website. “Social responsibility fuels passion, and passion fuels great writing.”
Benaron decided to write about the Rwandan genocide after visiting Rwanda in 2002 and realizing how little people in the west knew about what happened there.
“She has a character within this family that grows up as the tensions in his country are rising,” Baird said. “Her character, Jean Patrick, trains to become an Olympic runner. He trains very hard and as all of his aspirations rise, so does the tension that eventually boils over and create this horrible tragedy.”
With Oklahoma Christian’s growing Rwandan population, students attending the lectureship feel as though the topic will be interesting to listen to and will be a good way to learn something new about their international classmates.
“OC has a lot of Rwandan students, so it will be nice to know what their history is, where they’ve come from and the state of their country now versus where it was back during the genocide,” McCurrach said. “It’s one of the reasons why I’m looking forward to this year’s lecture.”
Aside from being able to attend the lectureship for free, an added bonus for all the freshmen is the chance to take home a free copy of Benaron’s “Running the Rift.” Those who attend will also have the opportunity for Benaron to sign their personal copy.
The McBride Lectureships have grown in the past years, drawing more attention and bringing in a larger audience.
“They used to block off a section in the cafeteria for the lectureships,” Baird said. “But since the lectureship has grown, the last couple of lectures we’ve had to have in Hardeman.”
According to the students, it’s the choice in speakers that make attending the lectures worthwhile.
“I really have enjoyed the McBride lectureships,” Ritchie said. “Last year it was exciting to have an award-winning playwright talk to us. He had a lot of interesting things to say and gave students the opportunity to ask questions.”
Students and attendees will have the opportunity to attend the panel discussion following Benaron’s lecture.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity that will only be here for one night so people ought to come,” Baird said. “Despite what some people may think, the lectureships are definitely not exclusively for honors students.”
The lectureships are organized and put together by Scott LaMascus, Oklahoma Christian’s vice president for academic affairs.
“Dr. Scott LaMascus is the genius behind the McBride lectureships,” Baird said. “He organizes them, he finds the money and he gets these speakers to come to campus. He always looks for someone who can say something about Christian faith.”
The McBride lectureship will be on Oct. 18 in Hardeman Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Admission into the lectureship is free, but seats should be reserved at www.oc.edu/mcbridecenter.
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