Becoming Alive in a Dehumanizing World | Rowan Williams & Chigozie Obioma

In today’s episode, our speakers explore some core questions about what it means to be human: What are we made for? What is the role of suffering in our lives? And is there something beyond ourselves that can give us purpose?

You’ll hear from Rowan Williams, a theologian and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and Chigozie Obioma, a novelist and professor at the University of Georgia. Their conversation is moderated by Mia Chung-Yee, a former concert pianist and executive director of the Octet Collaborative at MIT. In this discussion, both speakers share how their Christian faith impacts their view of what it means to be human, and what it means to live “fully alive” in a dehumanizing world.

This forum was put on in partnership with the Duke Initiative on Theology and the Arts and was held at the Carolina Theater of Durham in September 2025.

• Find additional resources and quotes from this forum here.