Romero Days 2025: The Future of Romero Studies We stand at an exciting time in the study and reception of the witness of Óscar Romero. In the 1980s, 1990s, and the first decade of the 2000s, biographies, personal reflections, theological essays, devotionals, and collections of primary texts made Romero’s witness more accessible around the world. In the 2010s, we saw in increasing number of books that take Romero ever-more seriously as both bishop and a deep theological thinker: as someone, who in both life and word, offered a corpus worthy of critical engagement and creative reception, as someone who continues—if we would listen—to speak into the challenges we face today. All of this has set a foundation for the generative and open-ended time in which we find ourselves. Romero Days 2025 will gather leading scholars from around the world to discuss the most urgent needs and the field of Romero Studies going forward. What parts of his legacy remained underexplored by scholars? How can his vision of peace, justice, and Christian life speak into the problems we face today? What does it look like to move forward as a genuine community of scholars and practitioners? Presented by the Kellogg Institute with cosponsorship by the Cushwa Center and Department of Theology.   More information here

Sylvester (Syl) Schieber ’72 M.A., ’74 Ph.D., became a staunch opponent of the death penalty after his daughter, Shannon, was murdered in 1998. When Philadelphia's district attorney announced her intent to seek the death penalty for the murderer, Schieber and his wife, Vicki, led a successful campaign against pursuing capital punishment in the case. Schieber's opposition to the death penalty has been deeply motivated by his Catholic faith and belief in the sanctity of human life. In this session, Schieber will recount his personal journey and reflect on the decades of tireless advocacy that he and his wife have championed to abolish the death penalty in the United States. This event is part of Death Penalty Abolition Week, co-sponsored by the Notre Dame Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic and the Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights.   Originally published at law.nd.edu.

Mark Gitenstein. Photo by the U.S. Department of State (Public Domain).Note the location change. This was originally planned for 1050 Jenkins Nanovic Halls. It is now in 1030 Jenkins Nanovic Halls.With many elections in Europe being decided in the past year and more ahead in 2025, the topic of the future of democracy in Europe is timely. It is also a moment of evolving relations between the United States and the European Union. How might democracy and international diplomacy chart a path forward? To invite consideration of this and other pressing questions, the Nanovic Insitutute has partnered with the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative to present a public lecture and dialogue with Mark Gitenstein, former United States Ambassador to the European Union. Gitenstein will be on-campus for several weeks during the spring 2025 semester as the Nanovic Forum Diplomat in Residence. His presentation will also be part of the ND Democracy Talks series. The Nanovic Forum aims to bring Europe's leaders to Notre Dame to engage with students, faculty, and its wider scholarly community. Likewise, the Democracy Talks series creates opportunities for Notre Dame students to better understand current events and pressing policy issues. With these two inter-related goals, this presentation will spark dialogue on the European Union, its relationship with the United States, and where democracy goes from here on both sides of the Atlantic. All are invited and warmly encouraged to participate in this important conversation. A light lunch will be offered to participants beginning 30 minutes prior to the event (12:00 p.m.), while supplies last. This event is co-sponsored by the Nanovic Institute's Nanovic Forum and the Notre Dame Democracy Initiatitive. About the Speaker Mark Gitenstein served as United States ambassador to the European Union from January 24, 2022, through January 17, 2025. Before this post, Gitenstein served as partner and counsel for Mayer Brown LLP for more than 30 years. He also held previous government roles, including serving as U.S. Ambassador to Romania (2009-2012) and working with the U.S. Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees. Originally published at nanovic.nd.edu.

Nishith Prakash, Northeastern UniversityNishith Prakash, professor of public policy and economics from Northeastern University, will present the lecture “Debiasing Law Enforcement Officers: Evidence from an Expressive Arts Intervention in India” to the South Asia Group. This event is open to the public, but registration is required by Friday, March 20. Lunch will be provided as available. Professor Prakash is a research fellow at CESifo, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), HiCN Households in Conflict Network (HiCN), Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Network Researcher, Global Labor Organization (GLO), and member of Insights on Immigration and Development (INSIDE-SPAIN). He is also currently serving in the editorial board of the journal PLOS ONE and associate editor at the Journal of Development Economics. Born and raised in Bihar, India, he earned a B.A. (honors) in economics from Shivaji College, an M.A. in economics from Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University (India), and a Ph.D. in economics from University of Houston, TX. He was a post-doctoral research associate at Cornell University, NY from July 2010 through December 2011. He has been a visiting fellow at Yale, Columbia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, and Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School. Originally published at asia.nd.edu.

Sister Helen Prejean, a leading voice for the abolition of the death penalty, has dedicated her life to advocating for human dignity. After witnessing multiple executions, she became a fierce critic of capital punishment. Her book, Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, exposed the brutal realities of capital punishment and sparked a nationwide movement. Sister Helen embarked on a speaking tour that continues to this day. Over the decades, she personally appealed to two popes, John Paul II and Pope Francis, urging the Catholic Church to oppose the death penalty unequivocally. Following their meeting in August 2018, Pope Francis announced new language in the Catholic Catechism declaring the death penalty inadmissible as an attack on human dignity. Sister Helen will share her journey of faith and activism, discussing the impact of her work in the fight to end the death penalty. This event is part of Death Penalty Abolition Week, co-sponsored by the Notre Dame Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic and the Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights.   Originally published at law.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. Marc JacobAssistant Professor of Democracy and Global Affairs Marc Jacob will discuss the introductory chapter of his book project on democratic voter coalitions and their role in sustaining democracy. The book proposes a theory under what conditions democratic coalitions are more likely to prevail and what key electoral segments drive varying coalition sizes over time. The empirical chapters of the book will draw on a cross-country analysis of the composition of democratic coalitions and comparative case studies of Brazil, Turkey, and Poland.' More information here