Historian Hidetaka Hirota, a Boston College alumnus, has published Expelling the Poor: Atlantic Seaboard States and the Nineteenth-Century Origins of American Immigration Policy (Oxford University Press, December 2016), a groundbreaking work that fundamentally revises the history of American immigration policy. Historians have long assumed that immigration to the United States was free from regulation until the introduction of federal laws to restrict Chinese immigration in the 1880s. In his new book, Hirota shows that nativists in New York and Massachusetts—faced with the influx of impoverished Irish immigrants over the first half of the nineteenth century—built upon colonial poor laws to develop policies for prohibiting the landing of destitute foreigners and deporting those already resident to Europe, Canada, or other American states. This state-level treatment of destitute immigrants set precedents for the use of unrestricted power against undesirable aliens on a federal level. Hirota, who earned a doctorate in history at BC, was honored for his scholarship while a student. The Organization of American Historians presented him with the Louis Pelzer Memorial Award, given annually for the best essay in American history by a graduate student. His dissertation was awarded the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation Prize from the American Society for Legal History.
Immigration control has a long history
Pope Francis’ Welcoming Church
In Go Into the Streets! The Welcoming Church of Pope Francis (Paulist Press, 2016), co-editors Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard R. Gaillardetz and theologians exploring the ecclesial vision of Pope Francis. This volume considers the pope’s concern for a fresh reception of Vatican II, his efforts to move the church toward the periphery and accompany those who live on the margins of church and society, and the tension between the church universal and local churches, among other topics. In addition to Gaillardetz, contributors from Boston College include retired Theology Department faculty member Fr. Robert Imbelli and Fr. Richard Lennan of the School of Theology and Ministry.
Reflections of a street doctor
Dr. James O’Connell, a founding physician and president of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP), will speak at BC on Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. BHCHP, the nation’s first medical respite program for homeless persons, serves more than 13,000 individuals each year in two hospital-based clinics and in more than 60 shelters and outreach sites in Boston. This innovative program provides acute and subacute, pre- and post-operative, and palliative and end-of-life care. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. O’Connell began full-time clinical work with homeless individuals in 1985. He designed and implemented the nation’s first computerized medical record for a homeless program in 1995. Dr. O’Connell published Stories from the Shadows: Reflections of a Street Doctor, a collection of stories and essays he wrote over 30 years of caring for homeless persons in Boston. It gently illuminates the humanity and raw courage of those who struggle to survive and find meaning and hope while living on the streets. Dr. O’Connell is a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award. Sponsor: Park Street Corporation Speaker Series.
Women and the 1916 Rising
Lucy McDiarmid, author of At Home In The Revolution: What Women Said and Did in 1916, will present “Fairies, Rebels, and the Boundaries of the House in 1916” on Feb. 3 in the Fine Print Room of Burns Library. McDiarmid is the Marie Frazee-Baldassarre Professor of English at Montclair State University. The lecture begins at 12:15 p.m. and includes a brief question and answer period, followed by a luncheon to follow at 1:15 p.m. in Burns Library’s Irish Room. RSVPs are requested by Jan. 26. Sponsors: Boston College Libraries and the Boston College Center for Irish Programs.
Posted in Guest Authors
Tagged Boston College Libraries, Center for Irish Programs, Ireland
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Krista Tippett
Krista Tippett, a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and New York Times bestselling author, will present “The Adventure of Civility” on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. Her radio show and podcast On Being, heard on more than 360 public radio stations and downloaded by millions as a podcast, opens up the animating questions at the center of human life. It is home of the Civil Conversations Project. Tippett, a National Humanities Medal recipient, is the author of Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters and How to Talk About It; Einstein’s God: Conversations about Science and the Human Spirit, and Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. Sponsors: Lowell Humanities Series and Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics.
Posted in Guest Authors, Lowell Humanities Series
Tagged civility, Institute for the Liberal Arts
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For consultants
From the moment of their first client engagement, consultants in all fields face communication opportunities and challenges. In her book, Communication for Consultants (Business Expert Press, 2016), Carroll School of Management Senior Lecturer Rita Owens guides current or would-be consultants through the various phases of a typical engagement and gives practical advice and direction on written and oral communication throughout a project. Owens, who has taught writing and communication for more than 25 years, was recently interviewed by Sonia Ensins of BC Libraries about her book.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged BC Libraries, Carroll School of Management, consultants
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Review of Kaveny’s books
America magazine has published a review of the most recent books from Libby Professor of Law and Theology Cathleen Kaveny, whom the magazine calls “one of this country’s most renowned public intellectuals focusing on the intersection of religion, law and morality.” Both titles, A Culture of Engagement and Prophecy Without Contempt, “are timely challenges to the escalating rancor of this year’s presidential election.”
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged book review, Law School, politics, Theology Department
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Book award for Casalini
Cristiano Casalini, a research scholar at Boston College’s Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, has been honored with the Joaquim de Carvalho Award from the University of Coimbra in Portugal for his book, Aristotle in Coimbra: Cursus Conimbricensis and Education at the Collegium Artium. Casalini’s publication is the first book to cover the history of both the College of Arts in Coimbra and the seminal work, Cursus Conimbricensis, the philosophical textbook published by the Jesuits of Coimbra at the end of the 16th century. More from BC News.
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Tagged Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, Jesuit, Portugal
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Elements
The fall issue of Elements, the undergraduate research journal of Boston College, features articles on topics such as the democratic transitions in Tunisia and Egypt, the statistical exploration of NFL kicking, and the life of Henry Hills, official printer to the British crown, among other original student research. Published twice a year, Elements receives financial support from the Institute for the Liberal Arts and the Office of the Dean for the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences.
Skipping Midnight
Rapunzel, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella return in Skipping Midnight, the third and final installment of Boston College alumna Laura Kenyon’s Desperately Ever After book series. In the series, Kenyon takes a whimsical look at the most beloved fairy tale princesses several years after true love’s kiss and asks readers to rethink everything they believe about happy endings. A former journalist, Kenyon has written for magazines such as Kiwi, Serendipity, Just Labs, and Westchester. The first novel in her series was a 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards Chick-Lit finalist and an Amazon #1 bestseller in the categories of Women’s Fiction Fantasy and Women’s Fiction Humor.
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