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.

Designed to help children develop their visual and verbal literacy skills, Artful Storytime is a partnership with the St. Joseph County Public Library. Each Artful Storytime includes stories, songs, artwork explorations, art-making, and more! We’ll be celebrating all our furry, feathered, and scaly pets this month. This program is best for families with children ages 4 to 6. Parking is available in the Visitor Lot immediately north of the Sculpture Park for a fee during the week (before 4:30 p.m.). Free two-hour parking is available in the Eddy Street Commons Parking Garage or along Angela Blvd. After 4:30 p.m. and on weekends, parking is free and available in any non-gated campus lot. If traveling via South Bend Transpo, take the No.7 bus and use the Eddy St. Commons stop.   Originally published at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.

One artistic form can inspire another, creating profound connections, often in eye-opening and fortuitous ways. In this writing workshop led by Brenda Cárdenas, Poet Laureate of Wisconsin, you will learn about various approaches poets take to the mode of ekphrasis—poems that converse or correspond with, interpret, or “riff off” of visual art. Then, with the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art’s permanent collection at your disposal and using prompts to guide you, you will write poems in response to works of visual art that inspire, intrigue, puzzle, or move you. We will work toward creating a third space where the poem and art together are something more or different than their parts—something, perhaps, unexpected! This workshop is free and open to writers of all experience levels. Registration is required, and the workshop is limited to 15 participants. Register here. Parking is available in the Visitor Lot immediately north of the Sculpture Park for a fee during the week (before 4:30 p.m.). Free two-hour parking is available in the Eddy Street Commons Parking Garage or along Angela Blvd. After 4:30 p.m. and on weekends, parking is free and available in any non-gated campus lot. If traveling via South Bend Transpo, take the No.7 bus and use the Eddy St. Commons stop. About the instructor:Brenda Cárdenas has published ekphrastic poems in her two books, Trace (Red Hen Press, 2023) and Boomerang (Bilingual Press, 2009), as well as in literary magazines and anthologies, most recently in Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology. Cárdenas is also co-editor of two anthologies, including Resist Much/Obey Little: Inaugural Poems to the Resistance (Spuyten Duyvil Press, 2017). She co-designed and co-taught the inaugural master workshop for PINTURA: PALABRA, a multi-year Letras Latinas initiative in partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she taught undergraduate and graduate classes and seminars on poetry and the visual arts. Cárdenas’s campus visit launches “Poets & Art: Ekphrasis at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art,” a multi-year partnership between the Museum and Letras Latinas, the literary initiative of the University’s Institute for Latino Studies (ILS). This workshop will be preceded by a reading and talk on ekphrastic writing in the Museum on Wednesday, September 24th. Between the reading and workshop, Cárdenas will spend two days at the Museum observing, reflecting, and writing a new ekphrastic poem inspired by an artwork on display.   Originally published at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.