May 13 2011
Globalization Lecture May 19th
The Global Studies Collective Invites You to a
Presentation and Discussion:
Globalization and New Approaches to Spirituality
In the Social Sciences
By Ron Nerio, Ph.D.
A small minority of western social science scholars in several of the social sciences have begun to write seriously about the need to incorporate spiritual approaches in research. This talk will examine some of the minority currents in various social science disciplines that have begun to challenge what their proponents regard as the materialistic biases and restrictive ethnocentricity of most western scientific disciplines. It will present research based on interviews with social scientists who claim to have been influenced by globalization in some way to reorient their position toward spirituality, as well as a content analysis of their published works. The forces of globalization that have had the greatest impact on their work include international research exchange, immigration, increasing sensitivity to ethnocentric and Eurocentric bias, greater access to translated research material, and new exposure to the world’s “wisdom traditions.” Ron Nerio is a graduate of the Department of Sociology at the CUNY Grad Center. His dissertation was a sociological examination of science, religion, and spirituality in psychology and psychiatry.
Date: Thursday, May 19
Time: 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Room 5489
If you have any questions, please write to: ronald.nerio “at” wagner.edu.

