The assault on Colombia’s Palace of Justice, the judicial branch’s headquarters, took place on Nov. 6, 1985, when 35 commandos of the M-19 guerrilla movement violently entered the building in downtown Bogotá. Their alleged purpose was to demand that the Supreme Court invoke a public trial of then-president Belisario Betancur. In their words, Betancur “betray[ed] a national desire to end the war through negotiations and public participation,” which was agreed upon with the signing of a ceasefire and the establishment of a national dialogue on Aug. 24, 1984. Within minutes Armed Forces reacted with a deployment of about 5,000 army and police members with heavy weaponry. According to the Truth Commission's report a massacre took place resulting in the estimated loss of at least 100 lives, the disappearance of 11 people, and the torture of several more at the hands of these security forces. In this lecture, Helena Urán Bidegain will focus on the question, “Why have the wounds caused by the attack on the Palace of Justice in Colombia not yet healed?” Her research contributes to the debate over how official and alternative narratives influence the recognition of victims and transitional justice in Colombia. Panelists: Helena Urán Bidegain, serves as an advisor for the Comprehensive System of Peace on measures for non-repetition. Her professional background includes working as a ministerial advisor at the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a researcher at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund on peace-related issues, and a parliamentary advisor on foreign policy (Latin America) in the German Bundestag, among others. She is the author of the book, "Mi Vida y el Palacio" (2020), a political-autobiographical account and investigation into the worst institutional tragedy of political violence in Colombia’s history. She has also contributed as a columnist for Revista Cambio, El Espectador, and ElDiario.es.Salina Kafle, Notre Dame human rights L.L.M. studentMonica Nuño Nuño, Notre Dame human rights L.L.M. student  Josefina Echavarría Álvarez, professor of the practice and director of the Peace Accords Matrix  Photo: The Palace of Justice during the 1985 siege. Credit: El Tiempo archive Originally published at kroc.nd.edu.

Cleek Schrey is a fiddler, improviser, and composer who specializes in the traditional musics of Appalachia and Ireland. During this public  talk/ performance, Schrey will discuss how to use printed tune collections like the recently publsihed Mulvihill collection or Notre Dame's own O'Neill collection to bring traditional repertoires to life.   Originally published at music.nd.edu.

Join artist, writer, and Kroc Institute Visiting Fellow Jessica Doe (Aniyunwiya/Cherokee Nation) for an examination of the enduring legacy of “Indian”—also known as “residential”—boarding schools through Indigenous creative expression. This multimedia event features immersive images from her exhibitions and performance/poetry series, a reading of Doe’s short stories, and a screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary, “Sugarcane.” A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, “Sugarcane,” the debut feature documentary from directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of a Native American residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities. Set amidst a groundbreaking investigation, “Sugarcane” illuminates the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere. Originally published at kroc.nd.edu.

Work-in-Progress Seminars are designed to generate in-depth discussion of new scholarly work. For the pre-circulated paper and to attend, please register with the link below. Room location information will be shared with preparation materials following your registration. Marianne KneuerKellogg Visiting FellowProfessor of Comparative Politics, Dresden University of TechnologyDirector, Institute of Political Science, Dresden University of Technology   More information here

Register hereDayna L. Cunningham is the Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Dean of Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. Jed Atkins is the director and dean of the School of Civic Life and Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Cunningham and Atkins are authors from the spring 2025 issue of Virtues & Vocations: Higher Education for Human Flourishing. They will discuss the issue, including issues around civic discourse. There will be 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.virtuesvocations.org  

According to a common conception, politics is based on discussion and debate, the exchange of ideas, and rational argumentation, i.e., “logos.” Based on an analysis of the weaponization of antisemitism and other issues, Elad Lapidot, professor for Hebraic Studies at the University of Lille, France, will argue that contemporary political thought is just as importantly premised on the opposite conception: that politics is based not on speaking, but on the suspension of conversation, on the break of rational discourse — on “logoclasm,” or the politics of not speaking. Originally published at kroc.nd.edu.