March 16, 2011 — Modern Africa, scarred by its founding narratives of colonial oppression and nation-state politics, has been especially vulnerable to chaos, war and corruption.

Emmanuel Katongole of Duke University will confront this painful legacy and show how it continues to warp the imaginative landscape of African politics and society in a lecture at the University of Virginia's Rotunda Dome Room on March 28 at 6 p.m.

Katongole, an associate professor of theology and world Christianity at Duke, will deliver the seventh annual Capps Lecture, a public forum for prominent Christian leaders and thinkers whose work explores the relation between faith and social responsibility. The lecture, sponsored by U.Va.'s Project on Lived Theology, is free and open to the public; seating is first-come, first-served.

His talk, titled, "Daring to Invent the Future of Africa: On Modernity, Politics, and the Madness of Christian Faith," will discuss the potential of Christianity to interrupt and transform entrenched political visions and create a different story for Africa – a story of self-sacrificing love that values human dignity and "dares to invent" a new and better future for all Africans.

Born in Uganda, Katongole is a Catholic priest and has served parishes in Africa, Belgium and the United States. He joined the faculty of Duke Divinity School in 2001 and is a founding co-director of the school's Center for Reconciliation. He teaches courses on the church in Africa, the Rwandan genocide, African politics, theology, violence and the AIDS epidemic. His latest book is "The Sacrifice of Africa," published earlier this year.

For information, contact the Project on Lived Theology at 434-924-6743 or livedtheology@virginia.edu.