Authority and Authoritarianism in Fiction and Politics
What stories are being told in 21st century fiction and politics? What stories are not being told? A panel featuring acclaimed writers will work to answer these questions at a Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy discussion titled “Authority and Authoritarianism in Fiction and Politics.” The event will be held Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. in Devlin Hall 101. The featured writers are: poet Edward Hirsch, a National Book Critics Award winner for Wild Gratitude; English Professor Elizabeth Graver, whose The End of the Point was long-listed for a National Book Award in Fiction; novelist Gish Jen (Mona in the Promised Land, World and Town), and Pulitzer Prize winner (The Orphan Master’s Son) Adam Johnson, a finalist for this year’s National Book Award for fiction (Fortune Smiles: Stories).
Pastoral power
In his new book, School of Theology and Ministry Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling Philip Browning Helsel provides advice to ministers and counselors looking to help those struggling with the stress of being a member of the modern working class. In Pastoral Power Beyond Psychology’s Marginalization: Resisting the Discourses of the Psy-Complex (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), Helsel contends that traditional mental health categories are inadequate when it comes to explaining the stresses of the current economy, including the psychological effects of debt, foreclosure and unemployment.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged counseling, economy, School of Theology and Ministry
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Fearless
Former United States Navy Lieutenant Carey Lohrenz, the U.S. Navy’s first female F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot, will present “Lessons in Leadership” on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. in the Murray Room of Yawkey Center. Her talk is part of the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics’ Chambers Lecture Series, established to bring exceptional leaders to campus to discuss how to remain ethical and driven in a modern society. As an aviation pioneer, Lohrenz learned what fearless leadership means in some of the most demanding and extreme environments imaginable: the cockpit of an F-14 and the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Since leaving the Navy, she’s spoken to business leaders, including Fortune 500 executives, about the fundamentals of real fearlessness and how to put together a successful, high-performing team. Lohrenz is the author of Wall Street Journal best seller, Fearless Leadership (Greenleaf Books, 2014).
On the Battlefield of Merit
J. Donald Monan, S.J., University Professor of Law Daniel Coquillette is co-author (with Bruce Kimball) of On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, The First Century (Harvard University Press, 2015), the first installment in a planned two-volume history of Harvard Law School. On the Battlefield of Merit documents flaws as well as triumphs, offering a candid, critical, definitive account of the legal institution during its first century. The flaws include the law school’s long entanglement with slavery, which began with its founding, in 1817, as well as its attitudes toward women and Catholics. Regardless, the authors point out, Harvard Law School has made lasting contributions to American history and legal education. Read more in BC Law magazine.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Boston College Law School, Harvard University, legal education
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On Thomas Merton
One hundred years after his birth, Thomas Merton is as relevant as ever. During his U.S. visit, Pope Francis cited the Trappist monk as one of four great Americans to emulate. School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Colleen M. Griffith will present “Thomas Merton: A Prophet for Our Time” on Oct. 29 at 5:30 p.m. in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons. In her presentation, Griffith will show how Merton’s contemplative vision has become only more prophetic today. Griffith is co-editor of the award-winning book Prophetic Witness: Catholic Women’s Strategies for Reform and Catholic Spiritual Practices: A Treasury of Old and New. Registration is requested. Sponsors: School of Theology and Ministry and The Church in the 21st Century Center.
The Bible in Early America
Mark Noll, author of In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, 1492-1783 (Oxford University Press, 2015), will present “The Bible in Early America: Colonies, Empire, Revival, War ” on Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. in Devlin Hall, room 101. His talk will explore the presence of Scripture from the era of Christopher Columbus through the American Revolution. As guidance for the first American colonies, a polemical prop for the expanding British Empire, the source of personal empowerment during periods of revival, and then a much-bandied rhetorical weapon during the struggle for American Independence, the Bible remained ubiquitous in American consciousness. Noll is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and author of several books, including America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln and Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction. Sponsor: Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life.
Posted in Guest Authors
Tagged America, Bible, Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life
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Panel discussion on Madison’s Hand
There will be a panel discussion on the new book Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention by Boston College Law School Professor Mary Sarah Bilder on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. in Barat House, Boston College Law School. Bilder writes primarily in the areas of constitutionalism and the history of the Constitution, early American legal culture and the legal profession, and the history of the book and legal education. In Madison’s Hand, Bilder reveals that James Madison’s Notes on the 1787 Constitutional Convention, long relied upon by legal scholars, were revised to a far greater extent than previously recognized. The other panelists will be Saikrishna Prakash (University of Virginia); Heather K. Gerken, (Yale Law School) and David A. Strauss (University of Chicago Law School). Sponsor: Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. | A Wall Street Journal review (subscribers only) calls Madison’s Hand “superb.”
“Long Emergency”
Author and social critic James Howard Kunstler will present “The Long Emergency” on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. Kunstler’s best-selling book, The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of the Oil Age, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-first Century, explored the sweeping economic, political and social challenges that will result from the end of access to cheap fossil fuels. He followed that book with Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation. His other non-fiction works are The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-made Landscape, Home from Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the Twenty-First Century and The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition. Kunstler also writes for The Atlantic, Slate, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times Sunday Magazine, among other publications. Sponsor: Lowell Humanities Series.
Posted in Guest Authors, Lowell Humanities Series
Tagged environmental issues, urban planning
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Honors for Sabbath
BC School of Social Work Assistant Professor Erika Sabbath has been named a recipient of a 2015 Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award from the Gerontological Society of America. The award honors insightful and innovative publications on aging and life course development in the behavioral and social sciences. Sabbath and her co-authors were recognized in the article category for “Use of Life Course Work-Family Profiles to Predict Mortality Risk among U.S. Women,” which appeared in the American Journal of Public Health. More from the Gerontological Society of America.
Posted in Awards/Honors, Boston College Authors
Tagged aging, research, School of Social Work
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