Community Lecture Series: "A Long Walk to Church: The Camino de Santiago Today"
Presenter: Carlos Mentley
Reception: 5:30 p.m.
Presentation: 6:00 p.m.
The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was one of the great cultural undertakings of the Middle Ages, and perhaps the most extraordinary adventure a person could have. It still is. The Camino de Santiago represents more than a millennium of history and tradition. The network of routes that lead to Compostela in the northwest of Spain contributed significantly to the development of western European civilization. Today, hundreds of thousands of modern pilgrims still tread these ancient paths on their way to Compostela, engaging in an idealized re-creation of the medieval pilgrimage. In this lecture, Dr. Carlos Mentley explores what it means to be a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago in the 21st century. And who knows? You may hear the Camino de Santiago calling to you as well.
Carlos Mentley is a Professor of Spanish in the Department of English and Foreign Languages at Lander University, where he also serves as Director of Study Abroad. He earned B.A. degrees in Spanish and in Psychology from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Spanish literature from Cornell University. A passionate believer in the art of pilgrimage, Dr. Mentley walked his first Camino de Santiago in the winter of 2003. Since then he has walked Camino routes in Portugal, Germany, France, and Spain. He has served as a volunteer hospitalero in Grañón, and is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of American Pilgrims on the Camino.