Min Jin Lee, author of the bestseller Pachinko (Grand Central Publishing, 2017), will give a lecture and read from her novel in a virtual event on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. Her reading will be followed by a moderated discussion and audience Q&A. Pachinko, a National Book Award finalist, follows four generations of a Korean immigrant family living in 20th century Japan. Pachinko is being adapted into a limited series for Apple TV. Lee also is the author of the novel Free Food for Millionaires. She is a writer-in-residence at Amherst College. Her appearance is presented by the Lowell Humanities Series and co-sponsored by the American Studies Program and the Asian American Studies Program. Pre-register for the webinar here.
Fiction Days presents Min Jin Lee
White House whistleblower
Miles Taylor, whose 2018 anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times provided insight into the chaos and instability in President Trump’s administration as well as the efforts of some insiders to work against the president’s alleged recklessness, will present “Why Dissent Matters — Lessons on Leadership Culture” at a virtual event on February 18 at 6:00 p.m. Taylor also is the author of the best-selling book A Warning (Hachette Book Group, 2019), an expansion of his accounts of the Trump administration and the consequences of re-electing what he called a “commander in chief unfit for the role.” Taylor revealed himself to be “Anonymous” in late 2020. Taylor was the chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he oversaw day-to-day operations. He was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security and managed engagement with the White House, federal agencies, foreign governments, and industry partners. He also served as deputy chief of staff and counselor to Secretary John Kelly, advancing efforts to protect the United States against nation-state adversaries, criminal plots, terrorists, and cyber threats. Today, Taylor is co-founder of the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform (REPAIR); a senior fellow at the McCrary Center for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security; and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Taylor’s talk is presented by the Carroll School’s Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics and the Political Science Department. Pre-registration is required.
Book review by Alan Wolfe
Professor Emeritus of Political Science Alan Wolfe, former director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, has penned a book review for the New York Times of Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by Benjamin M. Friedman of Harvard University. Modern economics is highly mathematical, but Friedman shows in his new book that it had its origins in theology. For all its brilliance, writes Wolfe, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism is “mistitled; its overwhelming concentration is on only one religion, the Protestant one.” Read Wolfe’s complete book review.
Gasson Lecture on Karl Jaspers
Boston College Gasson Professor Giovanni Pietro Basile, S.J., will present the Gasson Lecture on “Karl Jaspers: Philosophy of Existence as Event and Philosophia Perennis” on February 10 at 4:00 p.m Eastern Time. Professor Basile earned a doctorate in philosophy at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, and has taught at the Munich School of Philosophy and at the LMU Munich. Among his publications are two books – on Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason and on Kant’s Opus postumum – and several papers on Kant, Karl Jaspers, and Paul Ricœur. The Gasson Lecture will be presented in webinar format and pre-registration is required. Vice Provost and Canisius Professor of Theology James Keenan, S.J., will offer an introduction and Joseph Chair in Catholic Philosophy Dermot Moran will chair the event. Sponsors: Office of the Provost, Philosophy Department, and the Jesuit Institute.
Pedro Arrupe, S.J.
On the 30th anniversary of the death of Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the former superior general of the Society of Jesus, Jesuit Sources has released a long awaited English translation of his biography. Written by Pedro Miguel Lamet, Pedro Arrupe: Witness of the Twentieth Century, Prophet of the Twenty-First is based on extensive research Lamet conducted in Rome, Japan, and the Basque Country, as well as on interviews he did with Fr. Arrupe. Born in the industrial city of Bilbao, Pedro Arrupe (1907-1991) studied medicine in Madrid, but left medical school to join the Society of Jesus. During World War II he worked as a missionary in Japan, where he was accused of being a spy and imprisoned. He witnessed the explosion of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and he used his medical knowledge to attend to the victims. As Superior General, he became an agent of change in the Catholic Church of the 20th century. Many regard him as a prophet of the 21st century based on his vision regarding issues such as justice, globalization, the marginalization of women, and the plight of refugees, among other topics. This biography is a publication of IJS Studies–Research on Jesuits and the Society of Jesus, an imprint of Jesuit Sources, which is housed in the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College.
Posted in Guest Authors
Tagged biography, Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, Jesuits
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Virtual book event for Shrayer
Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies at Boston College Maxim D. Shrayer will read from and discuss his new book of interconnected poems, Of Politics and Pandemics: Songs of a Russian Immigrant, at a virtual book event organized by Belmont Books on February 11 at 7 p.m. Songs of a Russian Immigrant, which explores the impact of election-year politics and COVID-19 on American society, touches upon themes of despair, hope, love, and loss. An award-winning translingual author, scholar, and translator, Shrayer has more than 15 books to his name, including Leaving Russia: A Jewish Story, Yom Kippur in Amsterdam, and Voices of Jewish-Russian Literature. He will be joined at the book event by his daughter Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, a 7th-grader at the Driscoll School in Brookline, who will present her award-winning debut poetry collection Searching for Bow and Arrows, which explores the weight of one’s own personal, familial history as well as the history of politics and identity. Details and registration via Belmont Books.
Virtual book event for Allison Adair
Boston College will host a book launch to celebrate the publication of The Clearing, a collection of poetry by Associate Professor of the Practice of English Allison Adair. The virtual event, scheduled for February 11 at 7 p.m. Eastern time, will include a reading by Adair from her work, which won the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize. Following the reading will be a Q&A. Sponsor: BC English Department, with support from the Institute for the Liberal Arts. Registration for the event can be found at http://bit.ly/3sdL9EB.
Adam Smith’s insights on living a good life
Professor of Political Science Ryan Patrick Hanley discussed his book Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life (Princeton University Press, 2019) at a virtual event hosted by the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. In his book, Hanley examines a side of Adam Smith beyond his role as the founder of modern economics. According to Hanley, Smith was also an uncommonly brilliant philosopher who was especially interested in the perennial question of how to live a good life, and in Our Great Purpose, Hanley provides an illuminating guide to Smith’s incomparable wisdom on topics ranging from happiness and moderation to love and friendship. Hanley’s author talk can be viewed via C-SPAN.
Immigrants and trauma
Immigrants face a dangerous mix of rising nationalism and xenophobia, alarming rates of displacement within and across nations, war, trafficking, terrorism, and deportation. Multiple traumas stem from these experiences and can be exacerbated by interpersonal violence and other forms of marginalization within communities. The new book Trauma and Racial Minority Immigrants: Turmoil, Uncertainty, and Resistance (American Psychological Association, 2021), edited by Lynch School of Education and Human Development Professor Pratyusha (Usha) Tummala-Narra, examines the lasting impact of trauma for racial minority immigrants in the U.S. and subsequent generations. Trauma and Racial Minority Immigrants explores both the stress and resilience of immigrant groups in the U.S., as well as clinical or community-based efforts to address the multiple traumas that affect immigrants and their children. Tummala-Narra, whose scholarship focuses on immigration, trauma, and cultural competence and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, also contributed a chapter to the volume titled “Interpersonal Violence and the Immigrant Context.” Trauma and Racial Minority Immigrants is intended to help practitioners deepen their understanding of the immigrant experience and develop professional skills to help heal traumatic stress faced by racial minority immigrants.
Candlemas Lecture with David Tracy
Internationally respected theologian David Tracy will give the Lowell Humanities Series’ Candlemas Lecture on February 3 at 7 p.m. on the topic of his upcoming book on God, based on his Gifford Lectures, “This Side of God.” His webinar presentation will be followed by a moderated discussion and audience Q&A. Fr. Tracy is the Andrew Thomas Greeley and Grace McNichols Greeley Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Catholic Studies and Professor of Theology and the Philosophy of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is also a member of the university’s John U. Nef Committee of Social Thought. His publications include The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism and On Naming the Present: Reflections on God, Hermeneutics, and Church. A two-volume collection of his essays from the 1980s to 2018 was published recently, titled Fragments: The Existential Situation of Our Time and Filaments: Theological Profiles. The BC event is co-sponsored by the Theology Department. Registration can be found at https://bccte.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QP5Q5S6DQK-vXN1BJgsERA.
Posted in Guest Authors, Lowell Humanities Series
Tagged Catholic, Theology Department
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