Margaret O’Shaughnessy Heckler (1931-2018), a 1956 graduate of Boston College Law School, had a lengthy and influential career in public service. She was a United States representative, secretary of Health and Human Services, and U.S. ambassador to Ireland. A Woman of Firsts: Margaret Heckler, Political Trailblazer (Lyons Press, 2025), a new biography written by Kimberly Heckler (daughter-in-law of Margaret), chronicles her groundbreaking achievements as a woman in politics, while also offering a behind-the-scenes view of American politics from the 1960s through the 1980s. Among Heckler’s accomplishments was the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, landmark legislation that gave women the right to credit in their own names for the first time in American history. Margaret Heckler’s archives are housed at BC’s John J. Burns Library.
Margaret Heckler: A woman of firsts
Educating for Justice
Schools have a vital role to play in readying the next generation to transform society. Educating for Justice (ASCD, 2025) describes school-wide structures and practices that prepare students at every grade level to challenge injustice and build a better world. BC Lynch School of Education and Human Development Professor Scott Seider and co-authors Aaliyah El-Amin (Harvard Graduate School of Education) and Boston College graduate Julia Bott ’02, M.Ed. ’07, Ed.D. ’24 (Boston Public Schools) share research-backed strategies, concrete tools, and examples drawn from real schools and classrooms so school leaders and teachers can center justice in curriculum and pedagogy and engage students in social action. Their book also offers steps for educators who want to collaborate with families and community partners to strengthen justice-based school practices. Read more in this Lynch School article.
Translating Korean literature
When South Korean writer Han Kang was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, it shined a spotlight on her works, including an English translation of one by a Boston College faculty member. Seung Hee Jeon, an associate professor of the practice of Korean in the Eastern, Slavic, and German Studies Department, translated Kang’s Convalescence from Korean into English. Jeon is a leading translator of Korean literature as well as a distinguished bilingual literary scholar, critic, and editor. Notably, she was the translator for the late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung’s autobiography, Conscience in Action. Her translation of Bang Hyun-seok’s Time to Eat Lobster was selected as one of the “75 Notable Translations of the Year” list by World Literature Today. Her translation of Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail was chosen as one of the “10 translations of the year” by The Hankyoreh newspaper. Jeon, who holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Harvard University, has published articles on trauma, memories, and truth in war.
Bo the Boat
Boston College alumna Clare (Sweeney) Short, a pediatric speech-language pathologist, has published an interactive board book that supports early speech and language goals. With illustrations by Paula Rodriguez, Bo the Boat engages children with lyrical rhymes and adorable characters. Short is a 2010 graduate of BC’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development. She earned a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Virginia. Short says she is “passionate about communication and empowering families to unlock new skills in their child’s speech toolbox.” Bo the Boat, available in both English and Spanish, is Short’s debut children’s book.
Catholic Fundamentalism in America
After World War II, many aspects of American life underwent dramatic changes—including the Catholic Church. These social, cultural, and theological changes gave rise to a very strong strain of rejection, a fundamentalist Catholic movement based on fear and a loss of identity, according to Professor of Theology Mark Massa, S.J., director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. “Catholic fundamentalists want to go back to a more defined Church where Catholics can have a clear identity that’s different from the cultural identity of most people,” said Fr. Massa, author of the new book Catholic Fundamentalism in America (Oxford University Press, 2025). “I want to offer language and nuance that can help others understand who Catholic fundamentalists are and why they’re so desperate to find a safe space that doesn’t change.” Read more in BC News.
The Industrial Revolution as global environmental history
John McNeill, Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown, will present a talk on “The Industrial Revolution as Global Environmental History” at Boston College on April 2 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall 100. Recognized as a pioneer in the field of environmental history, McNeill is the author/co-author of eight books, including Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World, which was the co-winner of book prizes from the World History Association and the Forest History Society and runner-up for the BP Natural World Book Prize. It was listed by The Times among the best science books ever written and has been translated into nine languages. His book Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620–1914 won the Beveridge Prize from the American Historical Association. His most recent books are The Webs of Humankind and Sea & Land: An Environmental History of the Caribbean. McNeill’s lecture is presented by the BC Lowell Humanities Series and cosponsored by the BC History Department and the University Core Curriculum. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
An unlikely alliance
Award-winning historian Hasia R. Diner will discuss her book, Opening Doors: The Unlikely Alliance Between the Irish and the Jews in America (St. Martin’s Press, 2024), at Boston College on March 26 at 5 p.m. at Connolly House, 300 Hammond St. In Opening Doors, Diner tells a story of Irish and Jews immigrants that differs from the popular narrative. She shows how Irish and Jewish immigrants became steadfast allies in classrooms, picket lines, and political machines, and ultimately helped one another become key power players in shaping America’s future. Diner is professor emerita at the Departments of History and the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, and director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History. She is the author of numerous books, including We Remember with Reverence and Love: American Jews and the Myth of Silence After the Holocaust, winner of a National Jewish Book Award and the American Jewish Historical Society’s Saul Viener Prize. Her talk is sponsored by the BC Irish Studies program.
Ireland 1913-23
Revolutionary Times – Ireland 1913-23: The Forging of a Nation (Merrion Press, 2024) is an illustrated chronicle of a nation on the brink of a new dawn. Co-authored by Academic Director of Boston College Ireland Mike Cronin and Mark Duncan, former director of the GAA Oral History Project at BC, Revolutionary Times captures the complexity of this transformative decade through contemporary-style reportage, timelines of key events, and insightful essays. Drawn from the acclaimed RTÉ project Century Ireland, the book delves into the political upheaval as well as the everyday realities of Irish life during this period—from sports and fashion to housing debates and extreme weather.
Synodality’s future
Now that the Synod on Synodality has ended, how can the Catholic Church continue to grow in a more synodal—more participatory, open-minded, inclusive, and spiritual—ecclesial style? The answer to that question is at the heart of a new book co-authored by Jos Moons, S.J., Cavalieri Visiting Jesuit Professor at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry. In The Future of Synodality: How We Move Forward from Here (Liturgical Press, 2025), Fr. Moons and co-author Kristin Colberg (Saint John’s University and College of Saint Benedict) explore the historical and theological roots of a synodal church, review the Synod on Synodality (2021-24), and outline the transformations necessary for the Catholic Church to follow a path marked by inclusive listening. Fr. Moons and Colberg cite three required changes: a renewal of attitudes and behavior, a reform of ecclesial structures and procedures, and the adoption of synodal practices. The co-authors discuss the book in this video from Liturgical Press. A Dutch Jesuit from KU Leuven, Fr. Moons’ other publications include The Holy Spirit, the Church, and Pneumatological Renewal: Mystici Corporis, Lumen Gentium and Beyond and The Art of Spiritual Direction: A Guide to Ignatian Practice.
Let them
Bestselling author and award-winning podcaster Mel Robbins has written a new book that urges readers to focus on what you can control and release what you cannot. Robbins is a well-known expert on mindset, motivation, and behavior change. In The Let Them Theory she shares her groundbreaking approach to building a life of your dreams by stopping other people’s opinions, drama, and judgment from impacting you. Through relatable stories and science-backed strategies, Robbins provides a toolkit to help readers rediscover their inner power and transform their relationships. Robbins is a 1994 graduate of Boston College Law School. Her other publications are The High 5 Habit and The 5 Second Rule, and her books have been translated into 50 languages. More from The Today Show and Oprah.com.
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Tagged Boston College Law School, self-help, self-improvement
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