You Tube Theology

This lecture describes a poignant conversation between Dr. Thomas Cole and theologian Walter Wink, as Wink was suffering in the late stages of dementia. Wink reaches to recall the core of his message of Christian nonviolent resistance and Cole comes to realize that he is not merely an interviewer but a small part of Wink's community of caring relationships. Thomas R. Cole is the McGovern Chair in Medical Humanities and Director of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). Dr. Cole has published many articles and books on the history of aging and humanistic gerontology. His book The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America (Cambridge University Press, 1992) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He is senior editor of What Does It Mean to Grow Old? (Duke, 1986), the Handbook of Humanities and Aging (Springer, 1992; 2nd edition, 1999), and Voices and Visions: Toward a Critical Gerontology (Springer, 1993). Cole's interest in the life stories of older people has taken him into biography and film-making. In 1984, he encountered a hospitalized psychiatric patient who claimed he was the "original Texas integration leader." Their collaboration resulted in a bookNo Color Is My Kind: The Life of Eldrewey Stearns and the Desegregation of Houston (University of Texas Press, 1997)and an accompanying film, The Strange Demise of Jim Crow, broadcast nationally on over 60 PBS stations and internationally by the State Department. The documentary received numerous awards and was nominated for a regional Emmy and a National Humanities Medal. His current project is A Country for Old Men, a book exploring the lives, ideas, and identities of contemporary male elders. The views expressed in this and all of our videos are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent the views of OSU or its administration, faculty or staff. The goal of this, and all of our public events, is to serve as a catalyst for debate of a variety of viewpoints on important themes.