A major dimension of Jesuit and Ignatian spirituality is the spirituality of docta pietas (learned devotion) or of a “teaching that is holy, devout, righteous, revelatory.” For centuries this spirituality’s great legislative expression within the Society of Jesus has been the plan of studies—published in 1599— known as the Ratio Studiorum. In a new book, Jesuit priest Claude Pavur seeks to “sharpen people’s idea of Jesuit education by looking carefully at the Ratio Studiorum and its importance.” In the School of Ignatius: Studious Zeal and Devoted Learning offers essays which argue that what lies at the heart of the Ratio remains inescapably foundational for the Jesuit order, as well as for its education and spirituality. Fr. Pavur is an associate editor at Boston College’s Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, which has published this book as part of its IJS Studies–Research on Jesuits and the Society of Jesus imprint.
In the School of Ignatius
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged education, Ignatian spirituality, Jesuit author
Leave a comment
Veiled Origins
In her new book, Hebrew Psalms and the Utrecht Psalter: Veiled Origins (Penn State University Press, 2020), BC Professor of Art History and Film Pamela Berger resolves outstanding issues surrounding the origins of the Utrecht Psalter, an influential ninth-century illuminated manuscript. In a major departure from previous scholarship, Berger argues that the illustrations in the famous Utrecht Psalter manuscript were inspired by a late antique Hebrew version of Psalms, rather than a Latin, Christian version of the text.
How the South Won the Civil War
In a provocative new book, Boston College Professor of History Heather Cox Richardson argues that while the North prevailed in the Civil War, the ideals of the Old South survived and thrived by establishing a foothold in the West. How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America (Oxford University Press, 2020) traces how as new states entered the Union in the late 19th century, western and southern leaders found common ground. Richardson further suggests that the essential paradox of American history is that democracy has always depended on inequality–and that’s what makes democracy vulnerable to oligarchs.
Institutional review boards
Influential and sometimes controversial, institutional review boards are panels charged with protecting the rights of humans who participate in research studies ranging from biomedicine to social science. Boston College Professor of Sociology Sarah Babb takes a look at IRBs in her new book Regulating Human Research: IRBs from Peer Review to Compliance Bureaucracy (Stanford University Press, 2020). Babb, who served three years on BC’s IRB, traces the historic transformation of IRBs from academic committees to compliance bureaucracies: non-governmental offices where specialized staff define and apply federal regulations. She argues this evolution has had unforeseen consequences, including the rise of a profitable ethics review industry. Babb talks about her book in a Q&A with Inside Higher Ed.
National Poetry Month spotlight: Brendan Galvin
Brendan Galvin, photographed at Corn Hill Beach in Truro, Mass., by Gary Wayne Gilbert
Acclaimed poet Brendan Galvin, a Boston College alumnus, will publish his 19th book this fall, a collection of new poems called Partway to Geophany (Louisiana State University Press). Much of Galvin’s poetry is inspired by the national landscape of his beloved Cape Cod. Find here a selection of some of his poetry collections. His poetry book Habitat was a finalist for a National Book Award. Galvin is the recipient of the O. B. Hardison, Jr., Poetry Prize from the Folger Shakespeare Library. As he told Boston College Magazine, “I just keep on doing it [writing poetry]. It’s an enormous pleasure.” More of Galvin’s poems.
Teacher education book honored
Reclaiming Accountability in Teacher Education (Teachers College Press, 2018), whose nine authors are all BC Lynch School of Education and Human Development faculty or alumni, was named this year’s Outstanding Book by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. According to AACTE, Reclaiming Accountability in Teacher Education “provides the field of teacher education with a paradigm-shifting take on accountability, an issue that is central to the theory, policy, and practice of teacher education. The book’s insights and arguments are supported by rigorous scholarship regarding the historical, sociopolitical, and policy contexts of teacher education accountability.” Read more from BC News.
Making Ignatian spirituality accessible
Boston College alumnus Joe Laramie, S.J., a priest and experienced retreat leader and spiritual director, offers accessible wisdom from the foundations of Jesuit spirituality in his new book Abide in the Heart of Christ (Ave Maria Press, 2019). Using St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises as a guide, Fr. Laramie helps readers make a 10-day personal retreat in the midst of a busy daily life. He combines the writings of St. Ignatius, Gospel passages, and personal stories to help readers “know Christ more, love him more, and serve him more.” Fr. Laramie is a campus minister at Saint Louis University. He has guided many people, from college students and priests to prisoners and first responders, through the Spiritual Exercises. Listen to Fr. Laramie discuss the book in an “Off the Shelf” interview from the Catholic podcast network, Breadbox Media.
Ethics of Encounter
In his new book, Boston College alumnus Marcus Mescher presents an ethical framework for building what Pope Francis has called a “culture of encounter.” The Ethics of Encounter: Christian Neighbor Love as a Practice of Solidarity (Orbis Books, 2020) looks at this culture of encounter within an American context marked by rising individualism, racial tensions, class segregation, hyperpartisanship, and echo chambers online. Mescher, who earned his doctorate from Boston College, is an assistant professor of Christian ethics at Xavier University.
Clementine Churchill
Bestselling author Marie Benedict likes to focus her books on the lives of women whose stories have been overlooked or underappreciated. Her latest book, Lady Clementine (Sourcebooks Landmark, 2020), looks at Clementine Churchill, the influential wife of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who refused to surrender to expectations or to enemies. Benedict is a Boston College graduate and author of several books, including The Only Woman in the Room, a novel about Hedy Lamarr that was chosen as a Barnes & Noble Book Club selection. Read more in a Q&A with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Lincoln’s Second Inauguration
Award-winning writer and Boston College alumnus Edward Achorn focuses on a critical conjuncture in American history in his new book, Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln (Atlantic Monthly Press/Grove Atlantic, 2020). He depicts the various characters, from wounded Union colonel Selden Connor to Walt Whitman, Clara Barton, and Frederick Douglass, who converge on the nation’s capital for Lincoln’s second inauguration and heard “perhaps the greatest inaugural address” in the country’s history. In a 701-word speech, Lincoln that said that both the North and South had been wrong, and that the Civil War’s unimaginable horrors―every drop of blood spilled―might well have been God’s just verdict on the national sin of slavery. Achorn is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Distinguished Commentary and the editorial pages editor of The Providence Journal. His previous books are Fifty-Nine in ’84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had and The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America’s Game. Read more in The Economist.
BC Bookmarks 