NetVUE’s podcast Callings has released its first episode of season five, which features hosts John Barton and Erin VanLaningham’s interview with John Inazu, the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to teaching law, Inazu clerked for Judge Roger L. Wollman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and served as an associate general counsel with the Department of the Air Force at the Pentagon.
His most recent book, Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect, urges us all to change the way we engage with disagreement, using the rhythms of an academic year to frame its discussion. Inazu’s previous scholarship has focused on the First Amendment freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, which he has explored in Liberty’s Refuge: The Forgotten Freedom of Assembly and Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference.(See Jeff Frank’s post on dependability and vocation, which explores Inazu’s notion of confident pluralism.) In addition to his many scholarly articles and projects, he has also published widely in the Atlantic, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post.
In this episode, he reflects on his vocation as a lawyer and teacher, and shares insights and examples from the classroom to the courtroom. He highlights the importance of honoring the humanity of others and explores how we can all improve in our abilities to navigate diversities and disagree well. As we do so, he encourages us to hold things loosely and honor our particularities. In his view, engaging difference might be as central to vocation as finding common beliefs with which to identify.
Click hereto listen to the episode featuring John Inazu titled “Learning to Disagree.”
Geoffrey W. Bateman is the editor of Vocation Matters.
