This drop-in tour will introduce you to your Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. Join a student gallery teacher or a member of the museum staff to explore the architecture of the building through some of its most unique spaces and discover works of art that are highlights of the collection. Meet at the Welcome Desk. All are welcome and no registration is required. This tour will explore all gallery levels of the museum. Although the tour will keep moving between spaces, gallery stools are available upon request. Originally published at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.

The Chornobyl nuclear catastrophe of April 1986 shook the world. Its radioactive plumes defied borders and sowed fear across Europe. Yet in Soviet Ukraine, Chornobyl became more than a chilling site of ecological and human trauma: it resounded as a clarion call that galvanized new currents of resistance against the Kremlin. A figure long cast out of Soviet society emerged in Ukrainian culture to symbolise this union of hope and despair: the Madonna. Join Rory Finnin, professor of Ukrainian studies at the University of Cambridge and visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame during the 2025-26 academic year, to explore the immediate aftermath of the Chornobyl disaster in searing works of Ukrainian documentary film, poetry, and prose. He will show how Marian imagery invigorated a political movement for Ukraine’s independence and liberty — a movement that played a decisive role in the collapse of the Soviet empire and resonates in Ukraine’s defence against Russian aggression today. This event is open to Notre Dame students, faculty, staff, and visiting scholars. A short reception will follow. About the SpeakerRory FinninRory Finnin is professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge. He established the Cambridge Ukrainian Studies program in 2008. Finnin has curated and organized over 40 exhibitions and cultural events, advancing public understanding of Ukraine’s language, history, and society in the UK and beyond. His research focuses on the interplay between culture and identity in Ukraine, with particular attention to Crimea and Crimean Tatar literature, and his broader interests include nationalism studies, solidarity studies, and cultural memory in the region of the Black Sea. Finnin received his Ph.D. in Slavic languages and comparative literature from Columbia University. He is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Ukraine, 1995-97). Finnin has published extensively, and his book, Blood of Others: Stalin’s Crimean Atrocity and the Poetics of Solidarity (University of Toronto Press), has received eight international awards, including the 2024 Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies, administered by the University of Notre Dame’s Nanovic Institute for European Studies. Professor Finnin has also served as head of the Department of Slavonic Studies and chair of the Cambridge Committee for Russian and East European Studies. Originally published at nanovic.nd.edu.

Across the Continent: Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (1868) by Frances Flora Bond Palmer. Lithograph published in New York by Currier and Ives. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-03213.Thomas A. Tweed (University of Notre Dame) will discuss themes of his new book, Religion in the Lands That Became America: A New History (Yale University Press, 2025). Those interested in continuing the discussion are encouraged also to join the Dolan Seminar in American Religion the following morning. Both events are free and open to all. From the Publisher A sweeping retelling of American religious history, showing how religion has enhanced and hindered human flourishing from the Ice Age to the Information Age Until now, the standard narrative of American religious history has begun with English settlers in Jamestown or Plymouth and remained predominantly Protestant and Atlantic. Driven by his strong sense of the historical and moral shortcomings of the usual story, Thomas A. Tweed offers a very different narrative in this ambitious new history. He begins the story much earlier—11,000 years ago—at a rock shelter in present-day Texas and follows Indigenous Peoples, African Americans, transnational migrants, and people of many faiths as they transform the landscape and confront the big lifeway transitions, from foraging to farming and from factories to fiber optics. Setting aside the familiar narrative themes, he highlights sustainability, showing how religion both promoted and inhibited individual, communal, and environmental flourishing during three sustainability crises: the medieval Cornfield Crisis, which destabilized Indigenous ceremonial centers; the Colonial Crisis, which began with the displacement of Indigenous Peoples and the enslavement of Africans; and the Industrial Crisis, which brought social inequity and environmental degradation. The unresolved Colonial and Industrial Crises continue to haunt the nation, Tweed suggests, but he recovers historical sources of hope as he retells the rich story of America’s religious past. Originally published at cushwa.nd.edu.

Classics in the Browning Directed by Akira KurosawaWith Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa Not Rated, 143 minutesIn Japanese with English subtitles Toshiro Mifune is unforgettable as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper in High and Low, the highly influential domestic drama and police procedural from director Akira Kurosawa recently revamped by Spike Lee in Highest 2 Lowest. Adapting Ed McBain's detective novel King's Ransom, Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary, creating a diabolical treatise on contemporary Japanese society. GET TICKETS *Co-presented by the Meg and John P. Brogan Endowment for Classic Cinema.

Power, betrayal, and forgiveness: Shakespeare's classic The Tempest touches on timeless themes in one of his last (and most beloved) works. Blending romantic machinations, political scheming, and more than a bit of magic, Shakespeare brings to life vivid characters and powerful imagery in a tale whose themes continue to resonate with audiences everywhere. Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, is stranded on an island with his daughter, Miranda.Possessing magic powers, Prospero conjures a storm to expose his brother, Antonio, and King Alonso, who had him deposed. As Miranda falls in love with Alonso's son Ferdinand, Prospero's quest to reestablish his power leads him to a compelling dilemma: whether to destroy or forgive his enemies.Experience a satisfying evening of theater highlighting the text's brilliance while showcasing the actors' chameleon-like skill. Actors From The London Stage's minimalist and imaginative take on The Tempest requires just five actors who rotate roles and build entire worlds with simple props, capturing the humor, magic, and power struggles of one of the Bard's final plays. An AFTLS veteran or seeing your first play? Regardless, this performance promises to be accessible and exhilarating—proof that timeless stories still cast the most potent spells. GET TICKETS

The Center for Italian Studies is proud to announce that the 2nd Annual Dante Society of America Graduate Student Conference will be hosted by the University of Notre Dame. "Dante’s Other Worlds: Art, Language, and Imagination," is the second in a series of conferences organized by graduate students working in the field of Dante Studies in America. This opportunity allows younger dantisti in the Americas to present their work and research among other scholars. The conference will take place on Saturday, September 27, 2025 following a two-day symposium dedicated to the conference "Global Dante Translation and Reception," hosted by the University of Notre Dame. The symposium will be open to speakers and participants of the DSA conference. In those days, participants are encouraged to visit the exhibit “Commedia: Mapping Global Dante in Translation.” The collection includes every major translation from more than 24 languages, including rare ones such as Japanese (the first edition of the first translation), Korean, and Bangla, along with approximately 120 of the 137 existing English translations. Organizers:Beatrice Maria Rosso (University of Notre Dame)Stefano Scandella (New York University)Evan Underbrink (The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA) The full program schedule is available here. Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.