Drop in to meet and speak informally with curator Salvatore Riolo, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate, about the new exhibit, Mapping Global Dante in Translation. Learn how translators, artists, and printers have popularized and reshaped the Divine Comedy over the centuries and across the world and discover the Library’s many Dante editions. Free and open to the public.For more information, contact Holly Welch at rarebook@nd.edu or (574) 631-0290. About the Exhibit This exhibit traces the global journey of Dante’s masterpiece through rare and valuable printed editions, highlighting how translators, artists, and printers have popularized and reshaped the Commedia. These volumes reveal a dynamic dialogue between Dante’s poetry and the world. A global literary perspective transforms Dante from a monumental yet isolated figure of the European Middle Ages into a central presence in the ongoing international conversation about humanity, the universe, time, eternity, and the power of literature. This exhibit is co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies and the Devers Program in Dante Studies. It is curated by Salvatore Riolo, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate, and co-curators Giulia Maria Gliozzi, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate; Inha Park, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate; and Peter Scharer, Yale Comparative Literature doctoral candidate. Theodore J. Cachey Jr., Notre Dame, and Jacob Blakesley, Sapienza Università di Roma, served as consultants on the exhibit. This and other exhibits within the Hesburgh Libraries are generously supported by the McBrien Special Collections Endowment. All exhibits are free and open to the public during business hours.Open to undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, postdocs, alumni, friends, and the public.

Get a one-hour sampling of the power of a Notre Dame liberal arts education with the College of Arts & Letters' Crash Course series on home football Fridays! Each event features an A&L professor leading a class session pulled directly from some of the most popular and riveting courses on campus."Space Ethics" with David Clairmont (Theology) and Heather Foucault-Camm (McGrath Institute for Church Life)  The human journey into space has captivated the imagination but has also raised significant ethical issues. As the human presence in space for research, recreation, commerce, and possible future habitation draws closer, the urgency of addressing the ethical issues surrounding the human presence in space has also increased. In this session, attendees will get a sense of how this course considers the theological and cultural understandings of the origin and meaning of the cosmos, reviews the various ways that human beings have approached their presence in space, and contemplates the ethical issues associated with space commerce.  Alumni, friends, prospective students and their parents, and anyone else on campus are welcome.   Visit Crash Course for a complete listing of courses this season.Originally published at al.nd.edu.

"The Vanquished, The Office for the Dead," by Vasily Vereshchagin (1842-1904). Tretyakov Gallery. Image from artlib.ru via Wikimedia Commons.Save the date for the fifth annual Mathews Byzantine Lecture with Prof. Zachary Chitwood of The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Prof. Chitwood will be speaking on "The Invention of Prayer for the Dead in the Byzantine Tradition." About the Talk Far from being a primitive Christian practice, prayer for the dead and, just as importantly, the belief that such prayer could better the postmortal fate of the deceased, was not uncontested, and attracted critique as early as Late Antiquity. This story of the development of the commemoration of the dead in Byzantium is one full of surprising twists and turns. Studying the development of commemorative prayer in Byzantium not only allows us to glimpse a truly medieval innovation, it also offers a way of examining Byzantine history via a particular concept and its manifold interactions with politics, religion, law and culture, very much in the sense of a Maussian “total social phenomenon.” About the Speaker Zachary Chitwood is professor of Byzantine studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. His research interests include Roman and Byzantine law, the history of monasticism (especially Mount Athos) and the use of digital humanities (databases and AI-assisted text recognition). He is editor of the journals Byzantinische Zeitschrift and Endowment Studies. About the Series The Mathews Byzantine Lectures, begun in the 2021–22 academic year, bring a distinguished scholar of Byzantine studies to campus each year to deliver a talk, supported by the Rev. Constantine Mathews Endowment for Excellence in Byzantine Christianity in the Medieval Institute. Originally published at medieval.nd.edu.

Learning Beyond the Classics: Voicing Intergenerational Trauma in Postwar Korea and Japan through Contemporary Cinema Directed by Hyun kyung Kim Not Rated, 84 minutesIn English and Korean with English subtitles Director Hyun kyung Kim scheduled to appear live! This documentary explores the lasting impact of the Korean War while revealing the weight it still exerts to this day on several generations of the filmmaker's family. South Korean filmmaker Hyun kyung Kim grew up with the inherited burden of the Korean War, a conflict that left an indelible mark on her family and country. Her mother compulsively fills the house with items she finds on the streets of Seoul while her veteran father devours books about the war. The filmmaker's encounter with a North Korean defector mirrors the story of her grandfather, who likely stayed in the North when the country became divided, never to be seen again by his family. Defectors confronts the impact of a brutal war on several generations of the filmmaker's family. GET TICKETS *Free for ND, SMC, HC, and IUSB students. **Co-presented by the David A. Heskin and Marilou Brill Endowment for Excellence, Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, East Asian Languages and Cultures, Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship/Hesburgh Libraries.

Polish-born organist Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler brings expressive power and technical brilliance to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart's majestic Murdy Family Organ. Her recital, Music from Eastern Europe and the Americas, presents music spanning the 16th through the 21st centuries. Works from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S. will stand alongside pieces by J.S. Bach. Through lesser-known yet brilliant compositions, some rarely performed outside their countries of origin, Kubiaczyk-Adler hopes to expand her audiences' stylistic palette and global perspective.Enjoy hearing an international performer celebrated for her musical sensitivity and interpretive depth. At a time of day and place made for contemplation, the resonance of the organ played by a world-class musician in a historic setting makes for an unforgettable musical experience. LEARN MORE *This event is free and not ticketed.

Learning Beyond the Classics: Voicing Intergenerational Trauma in Postwar Korea and Japan through Contemporary Cinema Directed by Nagisa OshimaWith Kei Sato, Fumio Watanabe, Toshio Ishido Not Rated, 118 minutesIn Japanese with English subtitles Genius provocateur Nagisa Oshima, an influential figure in the Japanese New Wave of the 1960s, made one of his most startling political statements with the compelling pitch-black satire Death by Hanging. In this macabre farce, a Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next. At once disturbing and oddly amusing, Oshima's constantly surprising film is a subversive and surreal indictment of both capital punishment and the treatment of Korean immigrants in his country. GET TICKETS *Free for ND, SMC, HC, and IUSB students. **Co-presented by the David A. Heskin and Marilou Brill Endowment for Excellence, Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, East Asian Languages and Cultures, Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship/Hesburgh Libraries.

Drop in to meet and speak informally with curator Giulia Maria Gliozzi, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate, about the new exhibit, Mapping Global Dante in Translation. Learn how translators, artists, and printers have popularized and reshaped the Divine Comedy over the centuries and across the world and discover the Library’s many Dante editions. Free and open to the public.For more information, contact Holly Welch at rarebook@nd.edu or (574) 631-0290. About the Exhibit This exhibit traces the global journey of Dante’s masterpiece through rare and valuable printed editions, highlighting how translators, artists, and printers have popularized and reshaped the Commedia. These volumes reveal a dynamic dialogue between Dante’s poetry and the world. A global literary perspective transforms Dante from a monumental yet isolated figure of the European Middle Ages into a central presence in the ongoing international conversation about humanity, the universe, time, eternity, and the power of literature. This exhibit is co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies and the Devers Program in Dante Studies. It is curated by Salvatore Riolo, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate, and co-curators Giulia Maria Gliozzi, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate; Inha Park, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate; and Peter Scharer, Yale Comparative Literature doctoral candidate. Theodore J. Cachey Jr., Notre Dame, and Jacob Blakesley, Sapienza Università di Roma, served as consultants on the exhibit. This and other exhibits within the Hesburgh Libraries are generously supported by the McBrien Special Collections Endowment. All exhibits are free and open to the public during business hours.Open to undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, postdocs, alumni, friends, and the public.

Get a one-hour sampling of the power of a Notre Dame liberal arts education with the College of Arts & Letters' Crash Course series on home football Fridays! Each event features an A&L professor leading a class session pulled directly from some of the most popular and riveting courses on campus."Becoming a Force for Social Good: Sociology in Action" with Terence McDonnell and Erin McDonnellSociology  How can we build stronger communities and make a difference in the world around us? This dynamic course equips students with the tools and confidence to turn values into action. Blending cutting-edge social science, Catholic social tradition, and hands-on engagement in immersive methods like interviews and policy design, students explore real solutions to real problems and learn how to cultivate trust, belonging, and care in the service of the good. In this session, attendees will experience how Notre Dame educates students to lead lives of impact and purpose.  Alumni, friends, prospective students and their parents, and anyone else on campus are welcome.   Visit Crash Course for a complete listing of courses this season.Originally published at al.nd.edu.

New at the BrowningDirected by Four/Ten MediaWith Stephen Lancaster, Susan McDaniel, and Kyle MarshallNot Rated, 55 minutes, DCPWorld Premiere! Discussion with filmmakers and artists to follow the screening.Experience humanity's oldest recorded story in a new light. Gilgamesh, a visual song cycle, fuses contemporary English poetry, music, dance, and film to reimagine the ancient Mesopotamian epic. This innovative work, exploring timeless themes of power, friendship, love, grief, and mortality, features music by J. Scott Brubacher and libretto by David James Brock with performances by Stephen Lancaster (baritone), Susan McDaniel (piano), and Kyle Marshall (dance & choreography). The screening will be followed by a "Behind the Scenes" video and a talkback with members from the cast and crew. This is a free but ticketed event.  Call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Co-presented by the Canada Council for the Arts, Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, Department of Music, and Graduate Program in Sacred Music. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

As part of the 2025 Fall Italian Research Seminar series, the Center for Italian Studies is pleased to host a lecture by Professor Filippo Gianferrari (UC Santa Cruz) titled:Our Memories, Ourselves: Restoring Political Communities in Purgatorio   In one of the most striking and comic episodes of the Commedia, Dante and Virgil, Dante, Virgil, and a group of newly arrived souls in Purgatorio are suddenly scattered—like doves in a public square—by an irate Cato. They have just been caught indulging in a moment of recreation, entranced by the singing of a Florentine musician, Casella, who is performing one of Dante’s own canzoni: “Amor che nella mente mi ragiona.” This enigmatic episode has generated sustained critical debate, particularly concerning the target of Cato’s rebuke. Yet the preceding exchange between Dante and Casella is no less peculiar and deserves closer scrutiny—an inquiry this reading seeks to undertake. Casella’s assurances about his unchanged “memory” and “practice of the songs of love” (Purgatorio 2.107) constitute a bizarre and surprising claim in light of the late-medieval scholastic controversy on the survival of memory and affections in the disembodied soul. Dante’s revelations here about the condition of the separated souls must be appreciated as integral to the development of two of the Ante-Purgatory’s central and interconnected themes: the human body-soul composite and the political wreckage of Dante’s contemporary Italy. How do these seemingly unrelated concerns converge to animate this liminal space between life and death, body and soul, time and eternity? To begin addressing this question, this reading broadens its focus to examine the nexus between memory and embodiment in Dante’s treatment of both human generation (Purgatorio 25) and his representation of bodily ombre who can see, experience, and remember each other in Purgatorio (12–14). Through this exploration, affective memory and empathy emerge as key elements of Dante’s anthropology. Not only are they essential to individual and collective identities, but they are also central to his vision of ‘embodied’ souls called to purge themselves and to mend their fractured political bonds. Filippo Gianferrari is associate professor of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He received a Ph.D. in medieval studies from the University of Notre Dame, and an MA and BA from the University of Bologna. Before joining USCS, he taught at Vassar College and Smith College. His recent book, Dante’s Education: Latin Schoolbooks and Vernacular Poetics, was published by OUP in 2024 and investigates the influence of Latin school texts on Dante's poetics of vernacular learning. His next book project, “Political Eschatology: Vernacular Theories of the Common Good,” focuses on debates on the common good among the laity in late medieval Italian city-states. In particular, the project explores the entanglements of late-medieval political theory and theological controversies on the body-soul nexus, the intellect, and the beatific vision. He is the organizer of the webinar, “Project Paradiso: Exploring Dante’s Heaven,” and co-editor with Ronald Herzman of the edited volume Dante's Paradiso: A Reader's Guide (forthcoming, Routledge: 2025). 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.

Learning Beyond the Classics: Voicing Intergenerational Trauma in Postwar Korea and Japan through Contemporary Cinema Directed by Park Chan-wook With Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo Rated R, 145 minutesIn Korean and Japanese with English subtitles A celebrated director with a multifaceted body of work (e.g., Oldboy, Stoker, and Decision to Leave), Park Chan-wook took a big swing a decade ago when adapting Sarah Waters' Fingersmith and moving its original Victorian-era Britain setting to 1930s Korea when under Japanese rule. The bones, though, remain in place: A young woman is hired as a handmaiden to a reclusive Japanese heiress living on a vast estate in the countryside. Proving good help is hard to find, the handmaiden has an ulterior motive as she is working with a con artist, himself posing as a Japanese aristocrat, to seduce the heiress and empty her bank account. GET TICKETS *Free for ND, SMC, HC, and IUSB students. **Co-presented by the David A. Heskin and Marilou Brill Endowment for Excellence, Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, East Asian Languages and Cultures, Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship/Hesburgh Libraries.

Magnificat: Lifting Up the Lowly is a concert program weaving together the sacred and secular in response to human suffering and oppression. Framed by the canticle, the Song of Mary, it speaks of God who has scattered the proud, brought down the powerful, lifted up the lowly, and filled the hungry with good things. The concert features the glorious Magnificat by J.S. Bach, performed by students and faculty from the Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame.From the secular realm, Dmitri Shostakovich's intensely personal Chamber Symphony (from his Eighth String Quartet) bears witness to 20th-century suffering. Dedicated to victims of war and fascism everywhere, the work is said to be autobiographical even as it references pogroms against Jews and a patriotic song set as a lament.The program also includes Joaquin Rodrigos exquisite Fantasía para un gentilhombre (Fantasia for a Gentleman), performed by the acclaimed Italian guitarist Nicolò Spera. Rodrigo, who was blind, crafted this lovely work on 17th-century Spanish Baroque dances, creating a beautiful musical connection to Bach's era. ArtistsConcordia Vocal EnsembleSoloists to be announcedNicolò Spera, guitaristSouth Bend Symphony OrchestraCynthia Katsarelis, conductor GET TICKETS

This will be the third meeting of the critical reading of Dante's Paradiso, organized by Prof. Zygmunt G. Barański (University of Notre Dame) and Prof. Maria Antonietta Terzoli (Universität Basel), in collaboration with the Istituto di Italianistica dell’Università di Basilea and The William & Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies at the University of Notre Dame. At this meeting participants will discuss Cantos XIII-XIX.   Find out more here. Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.

By Kimberly BelflowerFresh from its Off-Broadway debut, John Proctor Is the Villain is a razor-sharp, timely play that packs a punch of truth, making it the perfect undertaking for a college campus. A 2025 award season darling, with seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, Best Actress in a Play, and Best Direction of a Play, it won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play, plus recognition from the Dorian Awards and Drama Desk Awards.Playwright Kimberly Belflower's contemporary story pulls at the parallels to reconsider Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Set in rural Georgia, watch it all unfold through the eyes of a high school class confronting the real-life complexities of identity, gender, and power.Helmed by Sarah Gitenstein, assistant professor for Notre Dame's Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, and directing an all-student cast with wit and honesty, they tackle this of-the-moment topic to challenge assumptions, spark dialogue, and give voice to those too often left unheard. GET TICKETS

This will be the third meeting of the critical reading of Dante's Paradiso, organized by Prof. Zygmunt G. Barański (University of Notre Dame) and Prof. Maria Antonietta Terzoli (Universität Basel), in collaboration with the Istituto di Italianistica dell’Università di Basilea and The William & Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies at the University of Notre Dame. At this meeting participants will discuss Cantos XIII-XIX.   Find out more here. Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.

By Kimberly BelflowerFresh from its Off-Broadway debut, John Proctor Is the Villain is a razor-sharp, timely play that packs a punch of truth, making it the perfect undertaking for a college campus. A 2025 award season darling, with seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, Best Actress in a Play, and Best Direction of a Play, it won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play, plus recognition from the Dorian Awards and Drama Desk Awards.Playwright Kimberly Belflower's contemporary story pulls at the parallels to reconsider Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Set in rural Georgia, watch it all unfold through the eyes of a high school class confronting the real-life complexities of identity, gender, and power.Helmed by Sarah Gitenstein, assistant professor for Notre Dame's Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, and directing an all-student cast with wit and honesty, they tackle this of-the-moment topic to challenge assumptions, spark dialogue, and give voice to those too often left unheard. GET TICKETS

This will be the third meeting of the critical reading of Dante's Paradiso, organized by Prof. Zygmunt G. Barański (University of Notre Dame) and Prof. Maria Antonietta Terzoli (Universität Basel), in collaboration with the Istituto di Italianistica dell’Università di Basilea and The William & Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies at the University of Notre Dame. At this meeting participants will discuss Cantos XIII-XIX.   Find out more here. Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.

Drop in to meet and speak informally with curator Salvatore Riolo, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate, about the new exhibit, Mapping Global Dante in Translation. Learn how translators, artists, and printers have popularized and reshaped the Divine Comedy over the centuries and across the world and discover the Library’s many Dante editions. Free and open to the public.For more information, contact Holly Welch at rarebook@nd.edu or (574) 631-0290. About the Exhibit This exhibit traces the global journey of Dante’s masterpiece through rare and valuable printed editions, highlighting how translators, artists, and printers have popularized and reshaped the Commedia. These volumes reveal a dynamic dialogue between Dante’s poetry and the world. A global literary perspective transforms Dante from a monumental yet isolated figure of the European Middle Ages into a central presence in the ongoing international conversation about humanity, the universe, time, eternity, and the power of literature. This exhibit is co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies and the Devers Program in Dante Studies. It is curated by Salvatore Riolo, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate, and co-curators Giulia Maria Gliozzi, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate; Inha Park, Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate; and Peter Scharer, Yale Comparative Literature doctoral candidate. Theodore J. Cachey Jr., Notre Dame, and Jacob Blakesley, Sapienza Università di Roma, served as consultants on the exhibit. This and other exhibits within the Hesburgh Libraries are generously supported by the McBrien Special Collections Endowment. All exhibits are free and open to the public during business hours.Open to undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, postdocs, alumni , friends, and the public.

Get a one-hour sampling of the power of a Notre Dame liberal arts education with the College of Arts & Letters' Crash Course series on home football Fridays! Each event features an A&L professor leading a class session pulled directly from some of the most popular and riveting courses on campus."Translating the Founder" with Rev. Greg Haake, C.S.C. (French and Francophone Studies)  In this one-of-a-kind course, students transcribe and translate the French-language correspondence of Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., the founder of the University, and of other francophone early figures in the history of Notre Dame. Completed letters have become part of a digital archive available to scholars, to the wider public, and to anyone interested in the University's history. In this class session, attendees will learn about some of the challenges of transcription and translation, see images of the original letters, and hear some interesting tidbits about the University’s early history.Alumni, friends, prospective students and their parents, and anyone else on campus are welcome.   Visit Crash Course for a complete listing of courses this season.Originally published at al.nd.edu.

By Kimberly BelflowerFresh from its Off-Broadway debut, John Proctor Is the Villain is a razor-sharp, timely play that packs a punch of truth, making it the perfect undertaking for a college campus. A 2025 award season darling, with seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, Best Actress in a Play, and Best Direction of a Play, it won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play, plus recognition from the Dorian Awards and Drama Desk Awards.Playwright Kimberly Belflower's contemporary story pulls at the parallels to reconsider Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Set in rural Georgia, watch it all unfold through the eyes of a high school class confronting the real-life complexities of identity, gender, and power.Helmed by Sarah Gitenstein, assistant professor for Notre Dame's Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, and directing an all-student cast with wit and honesty, they tackle this of-the-moment topic to challenge assumptions, spark dialogue, and give voice to those too often left unheard. GET TICKETS