Thad DunningRobson Professor in Political ScienceUniversity of California, Berkeley A vast literature highlights the political, social, and economic consequences of slavery. Yet previous research — particularly in political science and particularly in work on Latin America — appears to have missed important channels through which the regulation of slavery contributed crucially to state-building. In this research in progress, Dunning argues that the regulation of slavery in imperial Brazil contributed to the construction of a bureaucracy that was autonomous in many ways of slaveholder interests and propose the hypothesis that this was driven by imperatives of political survival. He then empirically examine two main vehicles through which an autonomous state was built: responses to lawsuits for freedom brought on behalf of enslaved persons and appeals for protection in the carceral system. The argument and supporting evidence may contribute new comparative insights to the understanding of state-building in the Americas.Thad Dunning is the Robson Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley and director of the Center on the Politics of Development. His research centers on comparative politics, political economy, and quantitative methods, with a regional focus on Latin America, Africa, and India. For more information, visit the event page. Sponsored by the Kellogg Institute at the Keough School of Global Affairs.

David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, will deliver a lecture in the auditorium of the Hesburgh Center for International Studies. The international aid system is facing unprecedented pressures. Rising global risks, shifting geopolitical dynamics and reduced funding have left aid efforts increasingly stretched, particularly in the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected regions. Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former UK Foreign Secretary, will explore these challenges and the need for a focused reform agenda. He will examine how aid can concentrate on the areas of greatest need, foster efficiency and innovation and continue its essential mission of combating extreme poverty and alleviating human suffering even in the face of tighter budgets. This event is in partnership with the Keough School’s Pulte Institute for Global Development. About the Series This event is part of the Dean's Forum on Global Affairs, designed to bring world leaders into conversation with Notre Dame students, faculty and the broader community around current challenges shaping global affairs. Originally published at keough.nd.edu.

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.

Featuring: Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, Archbishop of Washington In Conversation With: Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., University President In a political landscape where many Americans perceive political discourse has become unproductive, stressful, and disrespectful, where do we find reason for hope? Join us for a timely conversation that will explore the roots of our societal divides and offer strategies to move forward together toward a more unified future. The livestream feed will be posted to this page prior to the event. About Cardinal Robert W. McElroy Robert Cardinal McElroy is the eighth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington. Upon graduation from high school, Cardinal McElroy was committed to seeking a life in the priesthood but concluded that it would be best to pursue his vocation in a college outside the seminary system. He received a bachelor’s degree in American history from Harvard College and received a master’s degree in American history and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University. He also earned a master’s degree in divinity (M.Div.) at St. Patrick’s Seminary, a licentiate in sacred theology (STL) from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and a doctorate in moral theology (STD) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco on April 12, 1980. His first assignment was St. Cecilia Parish in San Francisco, which was the parish where both of his parents had grown up, attended grammar school, and were later married. Parish work has always been his first love. In 1989, Cardinal McElroy served as parochial vicar at St. Pius Parish in Redwood City. In 1995, Archbishop Quinn appointed then-Father McElroy vicar general of the Archdiocese, a post he continued to hold under Cardinal William Levada, who succeeded Archbishop Quinn. The following year, then-Father McElroy was made a prelate of honor by St. John Paul II and appointed pastor of St. Gregory Parish in San Mateo by Cardinal Levada. He had the immense happiness of serving in this same parish for more than 15 years. Then-Bishop McElroy was appointed auxiliary bishop of San Francisco by Pope Benedict XVI on July 6, 2010, and was ordained at St. Mary’s Cathedral on September 7, 2010. He became the Archdiocesan Vicar for Parish Life and Development and served in that role until his appointment to be the sixth bishop of San Diego in March 2015. Pope Francis appointed then-Bishop McElroy to the College of Cardinals on May 29, 2022. He was installed in a consistory on August 27, 2022, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Pope Francis appointed Cardinal McElroy the eighth Archbishop of Washington on January 6, 2025. Cardinal McElroy is a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life. Originally published at forum2025.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, Michael Baxter, associate professor of the practice, McGrath Institute for Church Life, will present on "Julia Greeley of Denver: A Black Woman, A White Angel, and a Red Wagon for the Works of Mercy on Wheels." The lectures take place in the Andrews Auditorium, located on the lower level of Geddes Hall, adjacent to the 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.Originally published at mcgrath.nd.edu.

Walter Frederick Osborne (Irish, 1859–1903), Miss Mollie, Daughter of J.G. Nutting, 1893, oil on canvas, 36 x 25 ½ inches (canvas). Private Collection, Ireland. © Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. Photo: Gillian Buckley, DublinPlease join us as we welcome Brendan Rooney who will expand on his study of Osborne’s portraits published in the present exhibition catalogue. In his presentation, Rooney will introduce Osborne as a person, examining the sometimes harsh realities of life with which he had to contend and the realist tradition on which the artist drew. Brendan Rooney serves as head curator at the National Gallery of Ireland. He is the author/editor of numerous books, including Creating History: Stories of Ireland in Art (2016). In addition to the in-focus exhibition Walter Frederick Osborne: The Guinness Portrait presented in 2024, he has curated several exhibitions of the work of prominent Irish painters, among them Roderic O’Conor, John Lavery, Jack B. Yeats, and most recently Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett. He is currently working on a monographic study of the painter Nathaniel Hone (1718–1784). Before the lecture in the atrium, you are encouraged to explore Walter Osborne’s work on view in the Temporary Exhibition Galleries on Level 2. The exhibition will remain open until the lecture begins. Originally published at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.