Learn how Quakers have shaped society from 1652 to today.
In Murder by Degrees, Dr. Harlan Stanley, a Quaker, defied late 19th-century societal norms by founding a Women’s Medical College. In reality, the Quakers, or Friends, continue to shape world history, despite their global population of fewer than half a million today. Paul N. Anderson, PhD, Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies at George Fox University, will outline their beginnings in 1652 to the present day.
Founded by George Fox and other Friends in 1652, the Quakers comprised the most dynamic Christian revival movement in 17th Century England. Quakers served as governors of several colonies, and with William Penn's receiving Pennsylvania as a land-grant from King Charles II, Quaker views of justice, integrity, and equality formed bases for the Bill of Rights and American democratic ideals. While great diversity is found among different groups of Friends today, they continue to impact world history despite there being fewer than half a million Quakers worldwide. Herbert Hoover, the first Quaker President, was raised in Newberg and was a student in Pacific Friends Academy, which later became George Fox University.
Paul N. Anderson serves as Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon and as Extraordinary Professor of Religion at the North-West University of Potchefstroom, South Africa. His PhD is from the University of Glasgow, and he has also served as a visiting professor or researcher at Yale Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, the University of Mainz, and the University of Nijmegen. Author or editor of some thirty books and over 400 published essays, his books include The Christology of the Fourth Gospel; From Crisis to Christ; and Following Jesus. He edits three book series: the Biblical Interpretation Series (Brill), the Johannine Monograph Series (Wipf & Stock), and the Quakers and the Disciplines Series (FAHE), for which he edited its eighth volume last summer: Quakers and the Future of Peacemaking. Learn more about Paul or see the books he has authored here.
Murder by Degrees is a thrillingly atmospheric tale of intrigue, featuring a brilliant female doctor who’s ahead of her time. Set in Philadelphia, 1875, the debut novel by Ritu Mukerji, Dr. Lydia Weston is preparing for the start of a new term at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, when the body of a young woman is fished out of the Schuylkill River. The death is ruled a suicide, but Lydia is suspicious. As the investigation unfolds, Lydia puts to use all her diagnostic skills and autopsy table acumen to pursue the killer.
Ritu Mukerji was born in Kolkata, India, and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. From a young age, she has been an avid reader of mysteries, from Golden Age crime fiction to police procedurals and the novels of PD James and Ruth Rendell. She received a BA in history from Columbia University and a medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She completed residency training at the University of California, Davis and has been a practicing internist for fifteen years. She lives in Marin County, California, with her husband and three children.
Learn more about A Novel Idea here.
Questions? Contact laurelh@deschuteslibrary.org
AGE GROUP: | Adult |
EVENT TYPE: | Adult Program |
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