Where’s Lincoln’s GOP?

to make men freeIn her newest book, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party (Basic Books, 2014), Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson traces the paradoxical evolution of the Republican Party—founded to give the poor equal opportunity, but too often aligned with the country’s elites. Richardson shows that with each passing decade, the schism within the Republican Party has grown wider, pulling the GOP ever further from its founding principles. Kirkus Reviews calls To Make Men Free, “a hard-hitting study that will surely resonate with ongoing attempts to regenerate the GOP.” Richardson recently published an op-ed on the topic in the New York Times.

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Endangered species

cover2.inddBC alumna Yang Huang’s novel Living Treasures (Harvard Square Editions, 2014) is set in China, Huang’s native country. Huang tells the story of Gu Bao, a law student who befriends a panda and a woman hiding from China’s one-child policy enforcers. According to Midwest Book Review, Living Treasures is “nothing short of spectacular; especially for readers who want a story steeped in Chinese culture, tradition, and politics but cemented by a powerful young woman who emerges as a savior to others.” 

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Constitution Day lecture

lincoln's codeJohn Fabian Witt, whose award-winning book Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, will present “Two Humanitarianisms” in honor of Constitution Day on Sept. 17 at 3:30 p.m. at the Boston College Law School. Witt is the Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale Law School. His other notable books are Patriots and Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law and The Accidental Republic: Crippled Workingmen, Destitute Widows, and the Remaking of American Law. In 2010 he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. Sponsors: The Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy and the BC Legal History Roundtable.

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“Hello”

america coverAfter two years in East Africa, Boston College graduate student Michael Rossmann, SJ, found himself back in the US and realized in a big city he can “pass thousands of people without anyone saying a single word to me. It might feel more comfortable not to be interrupted, but it’s not exactly comforting when people do not acknowledge my existence.” He writes about why spontaneous, short encounters with strangers are important in an essay for America magazine.

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Eggers to address Class of 2018

circleAcclaimed author Dave Eggers will address the Class of 2018 at the annual First Year Academic Convocation on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in Conte Forum. Each member of the freshman class was given a copy of Eggers’ best-selling novel, The Circle, to read in advance of his address. A fast-moving, cautionary tale about the influence of today’s high-tech organizations, The Circle offers an examination of a society where technology trumps the human experience and transparency masks the lives it was intended to reveal. A writer, editor, publisher and social entrepreneur, Eggers has been recognized for his distinctive literary voice, and for giving voice to a broad range of people around the world who might not otherwise be able to tell their stories. Eggers’ memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, about helping to raise his younger brother after their parents’ deaths, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His novel A Hologram for the King was a finalist for the National Book Award. He is co-founder of 826 Valencia, a tutoring center focused on writing and education that now operates in eight cities across the United States. More from the Boston College Chronicle.

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Happiness 101

america coverAdam M. Green, a Boston College alumnus and theology teacher at Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio, writes in America magazine about how Saint Thomas Aquinas is his guide to teaching his students about real happiness. “I explain how many common conceptions of happiness may ‘make us happy,’ in the sense of pleasing us, but that happiness is about something much deeper, less dependent, more lasting–and rooted in God.”

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Faith formation

forming faithSchool of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Jane E. Regan has written an essential guide for anyone in the ministry of adult faith formation. In Forming a Community of Faith: A Guide to Success in Adult Faith Formation Today (Twenty-Third Publications, 2014), Regan explores what important church documents say about evangelization and catechesis, and how they play a crucial role in thriving adult faith communities. Then she offers practical ways parishes of all sizes and personalities can help people become true disciples. Regan, a nationally noted educator and researcher, directs the continuing education program at BC’s School of Theology and Ministry. Her other titles include Toward an Adult Church: A Vision of Faith Formation and Gathering Together: First Celebrations of Reconciliation and Eucharist.

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Higher ed in India

altbachessaysA Half-Century of Indian Higher Education, a collection of essays written by Lynch School of Education Research Professor Philip G. Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher Education, is the subject of a book review in The Hindu. The reviewer calls Altbach’s scholarship “highly accessible, being illuminated throughout by a clear perspective and a compassionate sense of what life is like for Indian academics and students… a priceless chart for deep and deeply troubled waters.”

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The story of “Pie”

piePloughshares has published “Pie,” a story by Boston College Professor of English Suzanne Matson, as a part of its Ploughshares Solos series. Set in post World War II America, “Pie” depicts the thrill and danger inherent in the American dream of unrestricted liberty. Read an excerpt. Matson, a novelist and poet, is the author of  The Tree-Sitter, A Trick of Nature, The Hunger Moon, Durable Goods and Sea Level. Best known for the award-winning Ploughshares literary journal, Ploughshares has been publishing high quality American literature since 1971. Ploughshares Solos is a series of long stories and essays published first in a digital format, and then collected annually in the Ploughshares Solos Omnibus. “Pie” is available now as a Kindle Single.

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Waiting for Cancer

waitingforcancerIn her new book Waiting for Cancer to Come: Women’s Experiences with Genetic Testing and Medical Decision Making for Breast and Ovarian Cancer (University of Michigan Press, 2014), Boston College Professor of Sociology Sharlene Hesse-Biber explores the complicated emotional, social, economic and psychological turmoil faced by women who test positive for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, which indicate high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Based on interviews and surveys of more than 60 diverse women, Waiting for Cancer to Come uses their voices to describe the under-explored BRCA experience, from family crises, secrets and revelations to difficult surgeries and personal empowerment. “As a woman who has faced breast cancer and BRCA testing in my own life, and having lost a younger sister to an aggressive form of breast cancer, I have been especially motivated to bring women’s stories to life in this project,” said Hesse-Biber. More from BC News.

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