The community is invited to join Lander University and the Arts Center of Greenwood for the sixth and last installment of the 2023-24 Community Lecture Series Tuesday, April 2, at the Arts Center. Professor of Spanish Dr. Carlos Mentley will give a talk titled “A Long Walk to Church: The Camino de Santiago Today.” The lecture begins at 6 p.m., with refreshments starting at 5:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

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, 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.

Mentley is a professor of Spanish in the Department of English and Foreign Languages at Lander University, where he also serves as the 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, 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.

Please visit www.lander.edu/events for updates and to confirm event times and venues. For questions, please contact Interim Assistant Provost Dr. Mark Rollins at 864-388-8563 or [email protected].