“After about a month of teaching at the University of Bucharest, I was pleased to receive an invitation to lecture at Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu. As much as I am enjoying the rich cultural and intellectual life in Bucharest, i also appreciated the opportunity to travel to another city in Romania, especially one as beautiful as Sibiu.

My lecture was titled: “Love in the Bible: the Original Reality show.” It was attended by approximately 100 students, faculty and staff. In the course of the presentation, I also referred to my recently published Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions (cover photo attached) and explained its genealogy, scope, and my on-going scholarship on love and religion. One of the professors in attendance invited me to his class in Comparative Literature which met immediately after my lecture. There were approximately twenty students in his class and we continued to discuss issues pertaining to love in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. After both presentations, I enjoyed my conversation with Dr. Alexandra Mitrea, Dean and Professor of American Studies, and two other Fulbrighters who are teaching and conducting research in Sibiu. I am grateful for the Fulbright Program for enabling and encouraging such deep and profound cross-cultural dialogue.”