As a part of the ongoing series on how art and scholarship combine in academic storytelling, the Nanovic Institute is pleased to host a lunch presentation with Sarah Edmands Martin, assistant professor of design and a Nanovic Institute faculty fellow. Martin produced recently released A Fable of Tomorrows (2024), an artwork consisting of video projection, interactive sculpture, and video game design at the center of which is a fable from the future. It is experienced through multiple media forms. Created while on a 2024 research Fulbright in Norway, the work materializes how human memory, digital computation, and temporality are revealed through fables, riddles, and archives. As a phantasmagoric video panorama immerses viewers in visions of different temporalities (from deep time to a lifetime), a mysterious artifact poses Old English-inspired riddles, which take more than one human generation to solve. Curated into a solo exhibition in Manchester’s MediaCity which reached over 30,000 people on opening weekend, the work travels to South Korea in 2025 for a solo exhibition at the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of State, Notre Dame's Department of Art, Art History & Design, Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts. Join the Nanovic Institute as well as Notre Dame students, faculty, staff, and the general public to learn more about this work, experience the interactive elements of this art, ask questions, and enjoy experiencing an innovative example of the art of academic storytelling. Lunch for participants will be provided beginning at 12:00 p.m., while supplies last. About the SeriesThe Art and Scholarship of Academic Storytelling series explores the connections between “The Arts” (music, theater, dance, poetry/creative writing, filmmaking, drawing, painting, photography, and sculpting) and “Scholarship” on the topic of storytelling. Story and narrative are critical in the transmission of human ideas and culture. Thus, the institute and its partners across campus seek to understand how these methods of transmitting ideas may be practiced within an academic context. To do so, it seeks out the expertise of practitioners of the arts who do this type of storytelling in their work. Students, faculty, staff, and the general public are all invited to join these events, which are sometimes scheduled in tandem with performances on campus or in the local community, to consider this fascinating topic that cuts across disciplinary lines and appeals to academic and general audiences alike. Originally published at nanovic.nd.edu.

Join us as we welcome author Roman. R. Williams one of the authors of the book and founder of Interfaith Photovoice, which "combines amateur photography and structured dialogue" to promote interfaith understanding. About the BookSacred Snaps tells the story of a new approach to interfaith engagement. It is an invitation to see and engage religion, diversity, and inclusion through the lens of the mobile phone camera. These days, just about everyone owns a camera equipped smartphone. What if we recruited these cameras for the common good? When religion shows up in everyday life—at work, school, the mall, or the beach—often it is not welcome. At a time when so much of the public discourse is around equity, diversity, and inclusion, religion seems peripheral to important conversations about belief and belonging. Many embrace the wisdom that our workplaces, schools, and communities are enhanced when people can bring their whole selves into every aspect of their daily lives. But religion and spirituality are not gaining the same ground as other aspects of diversity such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ability. To be more fully included in the cultural conversation about human flourishing, religion needs to be seen and heard in new ways. The old paradigm of interreligious dialogue is no longer adequate. A new paradigm focused on building relationships at the grass roots of daily life is emerging.About Roman R. Williams, PhDRoman Williams is the founder of Interfaith Photovoice, an organization that combines photography and sociology for intergroup and interfaith engagement. He holds a Ph.D. in the sociology of religion from Boston University and a Th.M. focused on global religions from Gordon-Conwell Seminary. Roman was a tenured associate professor of sociology at Calvin University (2012–2020) and served as the executive officer of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (2016–2021). His academic publications combine his interests in lived religion and participatory visual methodologies, which come together in his edited volume, Seeing Religion (Routledge, 2015). During his years in higher education, Roman experienced a shift in his personal and professional interests, one that led him into community-based participatory action research. The pandemic gave him the opportunity to step out of higher education and into his own consulting practice focused on belief, belonging, and human flourishing. Today, he fancies the idea that he is helping to make the world a better and more inclusive place one photo at a time.Roman Williams will be introduced by Chad Meister, an Ansari Institute faculty affiliate who is a scholar of global religion and is currently writing a volume on interfaith dialogue. Food and refreshments will be available following the formal portion of the event program. This is a free event and advanced registration is not required. Originally published at ansari.nd.edu.

The Business of History and the History of Business is presented by Felipe Fernández-Armesto, the William P. Reynolds Professor of History, at the University of Notre Dame, as part of the Dean's Speaker Series. The Dean’s Speaker Series is a leadership-focused series featuring respected senior executives from top global companies across diverse industries. Through engaging discussions, the leaders share their unique insights on careers, global trends, effective leadership and emerging issues affecting business and society. The series is sponsored by the Burns Family endowment. Open to all students and the Notre Dame community. No registration required.

Join us for an engaging panel discussion as experts unpack the results of the 2024 U.S. election.   Welcoming remarks will be made by Notre Dame President, Rev. Robert A Dowd, C.S.C.  Moderated by David Campbell, director, Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, this event features insights from leading scholars Derek Muller, professor of law, Geoffrey Layman, chair of the Department of Political Science, and Laura Gamboa, assistant professor of democracy and global affairs, Keough School of Global Affairs.  The panel will analyze the election's key outcomes, voter behavior, ongoing contention and certification processes, and the broader implications for American democracy. A light lunch will be served from 12:30 - 1:00 pm before the panel begins.  The event is free and open to the public. Don’t miss this chance to hear from top experts about what just happened and what it means for the future of U.S. politics. This event is sponsored by the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, and co-sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy, and Notre Dame Student Government. Originally published at rooneycenter.nd.edu.

Saturdays with the Saints has established itself as a popular Notre Dame football pregame ritual that combines the university's rich traditions of Catholic faith and spirited game days. In this lecture, Therese Cory, associate professor of Thomistic studies, will present. The lectures take place in the Andrews Auditorium on the lower level of Geddes Hall adjacent to Hesburgh Library. The talks are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early as the events tend to fill to capacity. Come and grab a free T-shirt! Originally published at mcgrath.nd.edu.

Join us in celebrating the launch of Charles W. Powell's book Southern Baptists and Muslims: A Path to Dialogue through Narrative Empathy with a brief reading from Charles himself as well as opening remarks from Ansari Faculty Fellow, Daniel Philpott. About the BookSince the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the largest Protestant religious group in the United States—the Southern Baptist denomination—has been criticized for using and fostering anti-Islamic rhetoric. The use of anti-Islamic speech, specifically by Southern Baptist leaders, has become an alarming trend within the denomination. The effects of Southern Baptists' antipathy towards Muslims are indeed dire. Charles W. Powell has observed that the Southern Baptist denomination is underprepared and at times reluctant to engage with Muslims in the United States. His formal interviews with Southern Baptist pastors reveal that most pastors as well as their congregants have had no personal encounter with Muslims. As a result, this lack of encounter has created a deficiency of narrative empathy. Southern Baptists and Muslims empirically investigates the dynamics of these patterns. Powell proposes that this lack of narrative empathy is the primary reason why leaders within the Southern Baptist denomination have negative perceptions of Islam and Muslims. Moreover, it is primarily the lack of narrative empathy that allows for anti-Islamic rhetoric to flourish. The purpose of this book is to shape an improved, if not new, perception of Islam and Muslims--a perception that can foster neighborliness via narrative empathy. About Charles W. Powell. Charles W. Powell, serves as the associate director for Mission Engagement and Church Affairs (OMECA) at the University of Notre Dame. Powell joined OMECA in the fall of 2024. Prior to joining the team, he worked with the Ansari Institute where he headed multifaith engagement initiatives and taught the course “Evangelicals and Global Affairs.” Simultaneously, he was adjunct teaching faculty at Holy Cross College at Notre Dame; he taught courses in Christian-Muslim relations. Additionally, through Notre Dame Global he co-led the course “International Law and the Holocaust” in Poland for five years. He has traveled extensively into the Levant and Gulf States with a focus on building understanding, trust, and collaboration between Christians and Muslims. Powell is an academic visiting fellow alumnus of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford, UK. He earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago; his concentration was spirituality. He is married to Emilia Justyna Powell, professor of Political Science at Notre Dame. He and his wife have two daughters and a Brussels Griffon.Charles Powell will be introduced by Daniel Phillpott, an Ansari Institute faculty fellow who is a professor of poltical science at Notre Dame who specializes in religion and global politics. Food and refreshments will be available following the formal portion of the event program. This is a free event and advanced registration is not required. Originally published at ansari.nd.edu.