Join the Institute for Social Concerns on Friday afternoons for Encounter: lectures by distinguished scholars in the field of Catholic social teaching, who will share their insights and provide critical conversation on matters of justice and the common good. Reception to follow. Anna Rowlands is the St. Hilda Chair in Catholic Social Thought and Practice at Durham University, England. She is a political theologian who works at the interface of political and social theory and Christian theology. Her original training was in the social and political sciences, followed by postgraduate degrees in theology. She has worked for two decades on the political philosophy of Gillian Rose, with additional interests in Hannah Arendt and Simone Weil. These interests coincided with research over the last 15 years in two other areas: the study of forced migration and the ethics of migration, and the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching. She has published in all these areas. Her key publications include: Towards a Politics of Communion: Catholic Social Teaching in Dark Times (Bloomsbury, 2021) and The T&T Clark Reader in Political Theology, edited with Elizabeth Phillips and Amy Daughton (Bloomsbury, 2021) and The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Contemporary Migration (forthcoming 2024) edited with Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh. She is currently working on a new book on Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil and Gillian Rose.

The Institute for Social Concerns presents the 2025 Junior Parents Weekend Lecture with Eliza Griswold. Introduction by Rev. Hugh R. Page, Jr., vice president for institutional transformation. Reception to follow. socialconcerns.nd.edu/griswold Pulitzer Prize-winner Eliza Griswold is a journalist, poet and translator. “[Writing] with a reporter’s shrewdness and a poet’s grace (Princeton Humanities Council)”, her work centers on the complex nexus of religion, politics, human rights, and the environment. Director of Princeton University’s vaunted Program in Journalism, Griswold has been a contributing writer for The New Yorker for over two decades and has written and translated several volumes of poetry. Her newest book, Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church, a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award, provides a timely reflection on a growing pattern of fracture and polarization across foundational American institutions. An intimate chronicle of a close-knit church in Philadelphia as it dissolves amidst idealistic crises, it traces the drift away from traditional organized religion and churchgoing in the wake of modern society’s increasingly divergent belief systems. Deeply committed to journalism’s role in sustaining a healthy democracy, Griswold has been hailed for humanizing divisive social and political issues through compassionate portrayals of the people and communities most affected. Her exacting and immersive journalism teases out the stories behind fraying institutions and communities, offering us urgently needed perspectives on a rapidly evolving world—one of ever greater divides—between the have and have nots, rural and urban disparities, the perception of environmental issues, shifting political identities, and the sea-changes within contemporary faith and spiritual communities.

Register here Nathan Hatch served as the president of Wake Forest University for 16 years and previously served as provost at the University of Notre Dame. He recently published The Gift of Transformative Leaders(link is external). We will discuss this book and his lifelong commitment to making character central in higher education. We hope you will join the Institute for Social Concerns each month for the Virtues & Vocations lunchtime webinar series, Conversations on Character & the Common Good. There is always time for audience questions. Virtues & Vocations is a national forum for scholars and practitioners across disciplines to consider how best to cultivate character in pre-professional and professional education. Virtues & Vocations hosts faculty workshops, an annual conference, and monthly webinars, and engages issues of character, professional identity, and moral purpose through our publications.

Join the Medieval Institute as we host a special celebration of the 65th year of collaboration with the Ambrosiana Library of Milan, Italy. Our first event is an evening lecture with Reverend Canon Doctor Federico Gallo . More details will be added closer to the lecture. About our Speaker Rev. Can. Dr. Gallo, of the Archdiocese of Milan, studied Classics at the Università Cattolica del S. Cuore di Milano. He went on to serve in the Vatican Secret Archives, working in Latin and Greek Paleography, Diplomatics, and Archival Studies, and in the Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano. Since 2008 he has been a Doctor of the Ambrosiana Library, where he is director and a faculty member. There, he organizes conferences, publications, and research and is responsible for the daily life of the Library and its readers. His publications focus on the history of libraries, manuscripts, ancient collections in libraries and archives, and the history of the Ambrosiana Library. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the State Archive of Milan and the State University of Milan. He is a regular visitor and lecturer here at the Medieval Institute. Originally published at medieval.nd.edu.

If you Teach@ND, this event is for you! Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence is setting aside February 21 to celebrate and support the excellent teaching that happens on our campus. We will have events, giveaways, and more meant to recognize the immense value of your work and your connections with students. Please register by February 3. Lightning Talks Session 9:00–10:30 a.m. Notre Dame faculty who have participated in the Kaneb Center Course Design Academy, Notre Dame Inclusive Teaching Academy, and the Foundational Course Transformation Academy will share informal, three-minute lightning talks about exciting aspects of their own teaching. Come grab a cup of coffee and learn more about some of the great teaching going on right here on our campus. Keynote: “A Pedagogy of Kindness” 10:30–11:45 a.m.Speaker: Cate Denial, Knox College What does it mean to practice a Pedagogy of Kindness? This presentation will explore three tenets of compassionate teaching: justice, believing students, and believing in students. We’ll reflect together on what kindness (and its lack) has meant to us within academia, and how we can—piece by piece—assemble a kind approach to pedagogy that meets the needs of our students and ourselves in a time of great change. Lunch for Teach@ND Day Attendees 12:00–1:30 p.m. Take the time to connect with colleagues and join us for lunch!  Originally published at learning.nd.edu.

The Ambrosiana Library in MilanJoin the Medieval Institute as we host a special celebration of the 65th year of collaboration with the Ambrosiana Library of Milan, Italy. Today, we will host a series of roundtables and talks. More details will be added closer to the event. Originally published at medieval.nd.edu.