Carlos Eire, the T.L. Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies, Yale University, will discuss his book, They Flew: A History of the Impossible. Response by Nic Teh, Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame. Lunch provided by Modern Market. Limited seating of 50 guests. RSVP here. Originally published at mcgrath.nd.edu.

This debate features two articulate law professors and former government officials with very different political perspectives: Professor John Yoo, Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, a Republican, former deputy assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush Administration, former general counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has served in all three branches of national government, and who is a regular commentator on FoxNews; and Harry Litman, the senior legal affairs columnist for the Opinion page at the Los Angeles Times; the host and creator of the Talking Feds podcast; a regular commentator on MSNBC, CNN, and CBS News; a Democrat who advised the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004 and (post-election) the Obama-Biden campaign in 2008; and a former U.S. Attorney and deputy assistant attorney general.This matchup promises an animated debate on a range of current political, legal, and constitutional issues facing the nation yet distinctive for its civility and civil engagement of the ideas embodied in the parties' differing perspectives. This event is free and open to the public. Originally published at constudies.nd.edu.

As part of the Keough-Naughton Institute's fall 2024 speaker series, Professor Peter Shirlow will deliver a lecture titled “The Failings of Irish Republicans and the National Question in Ireland.” Lecture Abstract This lecture will explore how, despite post-Brexit Referendum predictions of a united Ireland by as early as 2021, there has been, at best, limited growth in recorded support for ending partition between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Growth of Northern Ireland’s Catholic population has been less dramatic than predicted and the region now has the fastest growing economy in the UK. Peter Shirlow asserts that in this context, pro-united Ireland campaigns and republican activism, especially via civic fora and social media, have failed to significantly close the gap between Irish unity and pro-union proponents. In this lecture, Shirlow will consider how Irish Republican arguments for unity contain internal contractions: underscoring the economic successes of the South while also indicating its structural deficiencies, or pointing to socio-economic deficiencies of Northern Ireland even while Republicans are co-authors of its new found economic growth. Ultimately, Shirlow argues, the shortcomings of Irish republicanism lie in its inability to read and understand the new sociology of Northern Ireland– particularly temporal and social shifts that potentially render the inevitability thesis of Irish unification inconsistent, if not ineffective, in the short to medium term. Speaker Biography Professor Peter Shirlow (FaCSS) is the director at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies. He was formerly the deputy director of the Institute for Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, QUB. He is the independent chair of the Executive Office's Employers' Guidance on Recruiting People with Conflict-Related Convictions Working Group and a board member of the mental health charity Threshold. He is a visiting research professor at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. He sits on the editorial boards of Irish Political Studies and International Planning Studies. Professor Shirlow has undertaken conflict transformation work in Northern Ireland and has used that knowledge in exchanges with governments, former combatants and NGOs in the former Yugoslavia, Moldova, Bahrain and Iraq. He has also presented talks to members of the US Senate and House of Representatives and is a regular media contributor. Originally published at irishstudies.nd.edu.

Featuring: Sec. Condoleezza Rice, Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and 66th US Secretary of State (2005 to 2009) In Conversation with: Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., University President In a post-pandemic world, the United States and the global community face a myriad of challenges. From the rise of authoritarianism and military expansionism by China and Russia, to the declining resolve and effectiveness of international institutions, and long-term alliances threatened by ongoing conflicts, we are witnessing a rising tide of populism and isolationism. In a recent Foreign Affairs article, Secretary Rice outlined the perils of choosing isolationism for both the United States and the global order, and offers suggestions for how to best move forward to build an effective internationalist foreign policy to meet the challenges of the current moment. As part of our exploration of this year’s Notre Dame Forum theme, “What Do We Owe Each Other?”, join us to hear Secretary Rice’s reflections on the path forward for our nation and the world. This event is free, but ticketed. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning one hour before the event. This event is co-sponsored by the Hesburgh Women of Impact.About Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and a Senior Fellow on Public Policy at Stanford University. She is the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In addition, she is a founding partner of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm. From January 2005 to January 2009, Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State of the United States, the second woman and first black woman to hold the post. Rice also served as President George W. Bush’s National Security Advisor from January 2001 to January 2005, the first woman to hold the position. From February 1989 through March 1991, Rice served on President George H. W. Bush’s National Security Council staff. Rice served as Stanford University’s provost from 1993 to 1999, during which time she was the institution’s chief budget and academic officer. As Professor of Political Science, she has been on the Stanford faculty since 1981 and has won two of the university’s highest teaching honors. In 2022, Rice became a part-owner of the Denver Broncos as part of the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group. In 2013, she was appointed to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, formerly the Bowl Championship Series, and served on the committee until 2017. Rice currently serves on the boards of C3.ai, an AI software company; and Makena Capital Management, a private endowment firm. In addition, she is Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and a trustee of the Aspen Institute. In 1991, Rice co-founded the Center for a New Generation (CNG), an innovative, after-school academic enrichment program for students in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park, California, which later merged with the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Rice earned her bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver; her master’s in the same subject from the University of Notre Dame; and her Ph.D., likewise in political science, from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. She has authored and co-authored numerous books on international politics, memoirs of her upbringing and her time in government service. Rice is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and has been awarded over fifteen honorary doctorates. Originally published at forum2024.nd.edu.

Lauren Groff is a three-time National Book Award finalist and The New York Times–bestselling author of the novels The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, Fates and Furies, Matrix, and The Vaster Wilds, and the celebrated short story collections Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. She has won The Story Prize, the ABA Indies’ Choice Award, France’s Grand Prix de l’Héroïne, and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and has been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her work regularly appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. Her work has been translated into 36 languages. She lives in Gainesville, Florida. Co-sponsors: Creative Writing Program, Gender Studies Program, Program of Liberal Studies — Join the Center for Social Concerns on Friday afternoons of home football weekends for MVP Fridays: lectures by national leaders, journalists, and writers on questions of meaning, values, and purpose.Learn more