The Second CELAM (Latin American Bishops Council) Conference held in Medellín, Colombia in 1968 was a significant moment for the Catholic Church. It was foundational for the reception of Vatican II, the evolution of liberation theologies, and the emergence of diverse ecclesial movements committed to peace, justice, and the integrity of creation. In the new volume The Grace of Medellín: History, Theology and Legacy (Convivium Press, 2018), 20 theologians, social ethicists, and historians offer reflections on aspects of Medellín that warrant remembrance, recognition, and reinvention, particularly within the context of the United States. The editors of The Grace of Medellín are all faculty members from the School of Theology and Ministry: Margaret Eletta Guider, O.S.F., associate professor of missiology; Félix Palazzi, associate professor of the practice; and O. Ernesto Valiente, associate professor of systematic theology.
Medellín at 50
Learning to code, swiftly
All innovators have vision, but some lack the technical skills to build their vision. Learn to Program Using Swift for iOS Development (Flatworld, 2018), a textbook by BC Associate Professor of Information Systems John Gallaugher, presents a different way to learn coding fundamentals. Through video-centered learning and a flipped classroom model, students learn coding by developing apps. According to Gallaugher, there may be no better introduction to programming than Swift for iOS app development–a fast and powerful programming language designed to be less error-prone and highly readable. Once students learn Swift and iOS, they find it easier to acquire new programming languages and development skills for other platforms. Gallaugher is an award-winning professor and founder of Boston College TechTrek, through which students spend several weeks visiting with technology executives, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston, New York, and Ghana. During his time on the leadership team of the Boston College Venture Competition, entrepreneurs affiliated with the program have built thriving businesses, gained admittance to elite startup accelerators, launched multiple products, and raised over $100 million in capital. He talks about his book in this video from BC Libraries.
A matter of trust
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the internal migration of a growing population transformed Britain into a “society of strangers.” The coming and going of so many people wreaked havoc on the institutions through which Britons had previously addressed questions of collective responsibility. In her new book, Trust Among Strangers: Friendly Societies in Modern Britain (Cambridge University Press, 2018), Cooney Family Assistant Professor of History Penelope Ismay re-centers problems of trust in the making of modern Britain. In this groundbreaking account, she examines the ways in which upper-class reformers and working-class laborers fashioned and refashioned the concept and practice of friendly society to make promises of collective responsibility effective – even among strangers. Read an essay drawn and adapted from Trust Among Strangers in the fall issue of Boston College Magazine.
A Jesuit Cossack
Before assuming the presidency of Boston College in 1932, Louis J. Gallagher, S.J., spent 15 months on a mission of danger and diplomacy in Russia. His adventure is recounted in the newly published memoir A Jesuit Cossack: A Memoir by Louis J. Gallagher, S.J., edited by retired University Secretary and Jesuit Community rector Joseph P. Duffy, S.J. Fr. Gallagher served as an assistant to the director of the Papal Relief Mission, helping to distribute food, clothing, and medicine in famine-stricken Russia. He also was a diplomatic courier—for both the Soviet government and the Vatican—bringing the remains of then-Blessed Andrew Bobola (later canonized by Pope Pius XI) from Moscow to Rome. Read more from BC News.
Understanding taxation
The sixth edition of Partnership Income Taxation (Foundation Press), co-authored by BC Law’s William J. Kenealy, S.J. Professor James Repetti, William H. Lyons, and Charlene D. Luke, has been published. The text is described as an accessible introduction to an intricate body of law, with 145 examples illustrating key principles. Focused on simple partnerships holding few assets and engaging in routine transactions, Partnership Income Taxation is designed to help students begin to understand and work with a statute that was drafted for (and by) experienced practitioners. Repetti was one of six “master teachers” profiled by Boston College Magazine in 2011.
Saint Alberto Hurtado, S.J.
Saint Alberto Hurtado (1901-1952), a Jesuit priest from Chile who ministered to the poor, is highly regarded in Latin America, but less well-known in the English-speaking world. BC Law Professor Scott FitzGibbon and BC Law alumna Fernanda Soza hope to bring St. Hurtado’s prophetic voice to a wider audience with their new publication, Social Morality. Saint Alberto Hurtado, S.J. (Convivium Press, 2018). Edited by FitzGibbon and Soza, Social Morality. Saint Alberto Hurtado, S.J., is the first English translation of St. Hurtado’s posthumously published work, originally published in Spanish some 50 years after his death. This annotated translation features introductory comments and more than 600 footnotes. FitzGibbon and Soza’s publication was showcased at an international conference organized earlier this semester by BC Law and the School of Theology and Ministry on “Catholic Social Thought in the Era of Pope Francis: Roots in the Work of Saint Alberto Hurtado.”
Posted in Alumni Authors, Boston College Authors
Tagged Boston College Law School, Jesuit, Latin America, saint
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In conversation with Emma Donoghue
Bestselling author Emma Donoghue will talk about her writing with Burns Visiting Scholar of Irish Studies Ciaran O’Neill on Dec. 1. The event, which will be held in Devlin Hall, room 101, from 4:45 to 6 p.m. is supported by the Thomas J. Flatley fund. Donoghue is the writer of the novel Room and the Oscar-nominated screenplay for the motion picture of the same name. Room was an international bestseller and a finalist for the Man Booker, Commonwealth, and Orange prizes. Her most recent work, The Wonder, is a historical novel inspired by the stories of Victorian era “fasting girls.” She is adapting The Wonder into a feature film.
Posted in Guest Authors
Tagged Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies, Irish, novelist
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Tolstoy and Dostoevsky
Professor Boris Lanin of the Russian Academy of Education, Moscow will present “Tolstoy and Dostoevsky: Why Do Russian Secondary School Students Read and Study Them?” on Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. in Lyons Hall, room 207. A scholar of Russian-Jewish literature, Lanin is a leading literary historian and author of a series of widely used literature textbooks for middle and high school. He has given invited talks at universities and research centers across the U.S., and in Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Argentina, Israel and Russia. Sponsors: Department of Slavic and Eastern Languages and Literatures, East European Studies Program, and the Heinz Bluhm Memorial Lectures Fund.
Posted in Guest Authors
Tagged literature, Russia, Slavic and Eastern Languages Dept
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Book launch: God in the Qur’an
The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College is hosting a book launch event on Nov. 28 at noon for God in the Qur’an (Knopf, 2018) by Pulitzer Prize winner Jack Miles, who holds the 2018-19 Corcoran Visiting Professorship in Christian-Jewish Relations at BC. Miles is a well-known religious scholar whose writings have appeared in The Atlantic, New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. His new book offers a portrait of the God of Islam, the world’s second largest religion. Miles is also the author of God: A Biography, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 and has been translated into 16 languages, and Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God, which was named a New York Times Notable Book. Miles is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English & Religious Studies at the University of California/Irvine and a recipient of both Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships. This event, which is free and open the public, will be held in McElroy Commons, Room 237. Email cjlearning@bc.edu to register.
Harold Petersen
Harold Petersen, a retired associate professor of economics, taught at Boston College from 1960 to 2016. He has published a personal reflection of his journey through BC and also the journey of BC as seen through his eyes. 56 Years: Two Journeys: How a Lutheran became Ignatian in his Years at Boston College and how Boston College stayed Ignatian as it Grew offers Petersen’s account of the University from its days as a commuter school, through a financial crisis, to its emergence as an international university still very much committed to its Catholic and Jesuit heritage. A highly regarded professor, Petersen was recognized with the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award from BC’s PBK chapter in 2014.
BC Bookmarks 