The Medieval Institute is pleased to present the eighteenth lecture in the Graduate Student Invitation Series with Hanna Gentili (University of Hamburg, Institut für Jüdische Philosophie und Religion), who will be speaking on "Natural Philosophy in the Arabic-Hebrew-Latin Landscape: Deconstructing and Reconstructing the Corpus." About the Talk Averroes’ works received their authoritative form in Latin in the Renaissance printed projects, culminating in the mid-sixteenth century Giunta editions. From this moment, up to modern editions, Averroes’ text remained “frozen in place.” But in reality, it was never like that. Dynamic and fluid, Averroes’ works were constantly evolving, circulating in various forms already in the Arabic world. This complication escalated as they reached the Latin world, often via the mediation of Hebrew, as further hands became involved. Finally, there was the hidden space that occupied the transitions from manuscript to print. Through a series of examples on the macro and micro levels, my talk will breathe life into this process, with focus on Averroes’ natural philosophy. I will argue that examining the texts across languages and media has philosophical and historiographical implications, and that we should adopt new methods to better understand philosophy and its study in premodern circles.  About the Speaker Hanna Gentili (Ph.D, Warburg Institute) is a historian of Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy. Her research focuses on the consolidation and circulation of the Hebrew philosophical corpus in manuscript and early print. She is currently a Research Associate at the University of Hamburg where she is working on Averroes’ natural philosophy in Hebrew and Latin within the ERC Project HEPMASITE (Hebrew Philosophical Manuscripts as Sites of Engagement). Before joining the University of Hamburg, she worked at the crossroads of philosophy and kabbalah in the Digital Humanities project Ilanot and in 2023 she was the curator of the Hebrew collections at the British Library. Her first monograph—about the philosophical notebook of the fifteenth-century Jewish intellectual Yoḥanan Alemanno in the context of the Italian Renaissance and Jewish philosophical training—is currently in preparation. Originally published at medieval.nd.edu.

Join the McGrath Institute for Church Life for a special book launch and lecture on "The Concept of Woman: A Synthesis in One Volume" by Sr. Prudence Allen, RSM. Topics of discussion will include the development of a philosophically coherent concept of woman from the pre-Socratics to the 20th-century personalists. Brief presentations will be led by Sr. Ann Astell, Ph.D., John Cavadini, Ph.D., and Abigail Favale, Ph.D., with a response by the author, Sr. Prudence Allen, RSM. Originally published at mcgrath.nd.edu.

The Center for Italian Studies is pleased to host a lecture by Professor Eva Del Soldato (University of Pennsylvania) titled: A Reckless and Scandalous Doctrine: Matthias Ferchius, a Franciscan in the Index  This paper delves into the intriguing journey of a forgotten booklet by the Franciscan Matthias Ferchius (1583-1669), drawing from recently unearthed material. It uncovers a fascinating blend of Biblical exegesis, poison expertise, medical reasoning, and rhetorical balancing acts, all in an audacious attempt by Ferchius to present no less than a revisionist account of the death of Jesus Christ. The paper will engage in the dialectic between Ferchius and the Holy Office censors, shedding light on the aspects of Ferchius’s text that raised particular concerns. It will also demonstrate how the pursuit of “new” outlooks in philosophy and theology always necessitated a firm reliance on tradition, a fact exemplified by other episodes of Ferchius’ intellectual career. Lastly, it will bring to the fore the paradoxical outcomes of this form of “conspiracy” philology.  Eva Del Soldato is associate professor of Italian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where she directs the FIGS Graduate Program and serves as interim director of the Center for Italian Studies. She was trained in philosophy and intellectual history at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Her research is primarily devoted to Renaissance thought and culture, particularly the Aristotelian and Platonic traditions. Her current project is focused on lovesickness treatises in the Counterreformation period. She is the author of the monographs Simone Porzio (2010) and Early Modern Aristotle. On the Making and Unmaking of Authority (2020). She has also published several articles and editions, including the Italian translation of Bessarion's In calumniatorem Platonis. She has co-edited several volumes (the most recent is Plato in the Italian Universities, 2024). She received— among others — fellowships from the Scuola Normale Superiore, Villa I Tatti, the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbuettel, the Huntington Library in Pasadena, and she has been a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Warwick, UK. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Milan, the University of Bergamo, and the 2022/2023 Charles Speroni Chair at UCLA. She has been the interim director (2019/2020) of the Global Medieval Studies Program at Penn, and she is currently the executive secretary of the American Association for Italian Studies (AAIS).   The lecture is co-sponsored by the Medieval Institute.The Italian Research Seminar, a core event of the Center for Italian Studies, aims to provide a regular forum for faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and colleagues from other universities to present and discuss their current research. The Seminar is vigorously interdisciplinary, and embraces all areas of Italian literature, language, and culture, as well as perceptions of Italy, its achievements and its peoples in other national and international cultures. The Seminar constitutes an important element in the effort by Notre Dame's Center for Italian Studies to promote the study of Italy and to serve as a strategic point of contact for scholarly exchange.Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.

Bringing together scholars, activists, and faith leaders with expertise in religion, radicalism, democracy, and depolarization, the 2024 Election Postmortem offers space for interdisciplinary analysis and collaboration at this critical historical moment. All sessions are free and open to the public. Drop-ins are welcome, but advanced registration is appreciated for planning purposes. REGISTER HERE.8:45AM - 9:00AM Opening RemarksLaura Frances Callahan, Asssistant Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre DameMichael Rea, Rev. John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre Dame9:00AM - 10:45AM What Happened: Reflecting on the 2024 Election and How We Got HerePanelists:David Campbell, Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy and the Director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, University of Notre DameDavid French, Opinion Columnist for The New York TimesRobert P. Jones, President and Founder of the Public Religion Research InstituteChristopher Sebastian Parker, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa BarbaraKatherine Stewart, Journalist, Author of The Power Worshippers and Money, Lies, and GodModerator: Michael Rea11:00AM - 12:45PM Remaining Vigilant: What to Watch for in the Days AheadPanelists:Rachel Brown, Founder and Executive Director of Over ZeroKristin Kobes Du Mez, Professor of History and Gender Studies, Calvin UniversityLilliana Mason, SNF Angora Institute Associate Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins UniversityElizabeth Neumann, Department of Homeland Security (former)Matthew D. Taylor, Protestant Scholar, Institute for Islamic • Christian • Jewish StudiesModerator: Laura Frances Callahan3:30PM - 5:30PM Strategy Session: Planning, Partnerships, and Practical Steps for the Next Four YearsPanelists:Chris Crawford, Policy Strategist, Free & Fair Elections, at Protect DemocracyAmanda Tyler, Executive Director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious LibertyJim Wallis, Director of the Center on Faith +Justice, Georgetown UniversityTim Whitaker, Creator + Facilitator, The New EvangelicalsModerator: Joel Day, Managing Director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, University of Notre DameFree visitor parking is available in the Stadium, Joyce, Walsh, and Compton lots on campus, located just south of the football stadium. Campus Map Lodging within walking distance of the conference center include The Morris Inn on campus, and the Embassy Suites by Hilton South Bend at Notre Dame and the Fairfield Inn & Suites South Bend at Notre Dame at Eddy Street Commons. The 2024 Election Postmortem event is hosted by the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the Unversity of Notre Dame. Please contact the Center for Philosophy of Religion with questions.

Register here  We hope you will join us each month for the Virtues & Vocations lunchtime webinar series, Conversations on Character & the Common Good. There is always time for audience questions. Sanford “Sandy” Shugart served from 2000 to 2021 as the fourth president of Valencia College in greater Orlando, Florida. He is a senior fellow with the Aspen Institute and the author of Leadership in the Crucible of Work: Discovering the Interior Life of an Authentic Leader. Our conversation will consider the broad landscape of higher education — and particularly pre-professional and professional education for flourishing within community colleges — along with issues of leadership and character. 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.

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.