Dorje Dolma will talk about her remarkable childhood, the focus of her memoir, Yak Girl: Growing Up in the Remote Dolpo Region of Nepal (Sentient Publications, 2018), on Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. in Higgins Room, 310. Dolma was born in an undeveloped region of Nepal, high in the mountains bordering Tibet. She was the oldest of eleven children, only six of whom survived their harsh living conditions. At age ten, Dolma’s parents took her on a month-long trek to Kathmandu to find help for a life-threatening disease. There they encountered Westerners who brought Dolma to the US for life-saving surgery. Through vignettes of daily life, Dolma tells a story of loss and survival, and offers a vivid picture of the practice of centuries-old Tibetan traditions. Sponsor: Asian Studies.
Yak Girl
Law and Christian ethics
In her new book Ethics at the Edges of Law: Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought (Oxford University Press, 2017), Libby Professor of Law and Theology Cathleen Kaveny explores the intellectual exchange between the American legal tradition and the tradition of Christian ethics in a novel way. Kaveny’s approach puts a focus on common law as a source of more knowledge and wisdom for Christian ethicists. Kaveny brings the work of contemporary ethicists such as Paul Ramsey, John Noonan, Margaret Farley, and Stanley Hauerwas into “conversation” with the American legal tradition to show how the law can enrich and illuminate ethical issues. Read more from BC News.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Boston College Law School, Christian ethics, law, Theology Department
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The Theology of the People
An English translation of Pope Francis and the Theology of the People (Orbis Books) by School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor of the Practice Rafael Luciani has been published. Originally written in Spanish, the book focuses on the pastoral and theological vision of Pope Francis, particularly his embrace of a type of liberation theology called the theology of the people. Pope Francis and the Theology of the People was used in a course Luciani taught at the STM. According to Luciani, Boston College was the first college or university in the U.S. to offer a course on the Latin American roots and the theology of Pope Francis. Luciani was able to present Pope Francis with the English translation during a private audience he had with the pontiff in November. More from BC News. | National Catholic Reporter review
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Catholic, Pope Francis, School of Theology and Ministry
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Book award for Coquillette
Monan Professor of Law Daniel Coquillette and co-author Bruce Kimball were awarded the Peter Dobkin Hall History of Philanthropy Book Prize for their publication, On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, The First Century. The award was presented by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, an international group that connects scholars, teachers and practice leaders interested in research on nonprofit organizations, voluntary action, philanthropy and civil society. On the Battlefield of Merit offers a candid, critical, and definitive account of Harvard Law from 1817 to 1909. [Read more in the 10-29-15 BC Bookmarks post.]
Candlemas Lecture: Willie Jennings
Award-winning author and ordained Baptist minister Willie Jennings will give the annual Candlemas Lecture on February 8 at 7:00 p.m. in Devlin Hall, Room 101. Jennings, an associate professor of systematic theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School, will present “To Hear the World Again: Giving Christians an Actual Doctrine of Creation.” Jennings writes on liberation theologies, cultural identities, and anthropology, and is the author of the book The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race, which won the American Academy of Religion Award of Excellence in the Study of Religion and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion. He is at work on a new project on the doctrine of creation, tentatively titled Reframing the World. Sponsors: Lowell Humanities Series and Theology Department.
Posted in Guest Authors, Lowell Humanities Series
Tagged Chrisitianity, Theology Department
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Bible Nation
Professor Candida Moss of the University of Birmingham in the UK will present the inaugural Wolfe Lecture on Religion and American Politics on Feb. 7 at 5:30 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. Titled “Bible Nation: Hobby Lobby, Scripture, and the Making of America,” Moss’ lecture will explore the involvement in public life of the Green family, the owners of Hobby Lobby and party to the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby lawsuit. Moss is an award-winning author/editor of seven books, including Ancient Christian Martyrdom, Reconceiving Infertility: Biblical Perspectives on Procreation and Childlessness, and Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby. A columnist for The Daily Beast, she has served as a papal news contributor for CBS News and has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, The LA Times and Politico. Sponsor: Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life.
No more mean girls
Today’s generation of girls is becoming caught up in social hierarchies much earlier than previous generations and, thanks to social media and the “like” button, the pursuit of popularity is more public and insatiable than ever before. Boston College alumna Katie Hurley, a child and adolescent psychotherapist, has written a new book to help parents empower young girls to be kind, confident leaders who work together and build each other up. No More Mean Girls: The Secret to Raising Strong, Confident, and Compassionate Girls (TarcherPerigee/Penguin Random House, 2018) is a guide for parents to help their young daughters navigate tricky territories such as friendship building, creating an authentic self, standing up for themselves and others, and expressing themselves in a healthy way. Geared for parents of girls aged three to 13, Hurley’s book takes on the “mean girl culture” and alerts parents to the signs of relational aggression—behavior intended to harm someone by damaging or manipulating her relationship with others—in their daughters’ daily lives. Hurley is also the author of The Happy Kid Handbook.
Civil War letters of an Irish immigrant
Ellen B. Alden’s historical novel Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke tells the story of an Irish farmer who emigrated to West Springfield, Massachusetts to escape the ravages of the Great Famine and later faced the desolation of Civil War battlefields in Virginia as a volunteer in the Union Army. The book is based on a series of 19 letters written by Alden’s great-great grandfather. Alden will discuss her book and her research and writing at a Jan. 31 event at the Burns Library, at which time she will formally donate Florence Burke’s original letters and photographs to the library. The event will take place at 7 p.m. and copies of Alden’s book will be available for purchase and signing. Read more from the Irish Times | Boston Globe.
Rediscovering a woman of conscience
In her new book, Margaret Pearmain Welch (1893-1984): Proper Bostonian, Activist, Pacifist, Reformer, Preservationist, Elizabeth Fideler introduces readers to a highly accomplished woman from a bygone era. According to Fideler, Welch was a debutante, world traveler, socialite, and dancer who “defied the mores of her social set and got away with it.” Though she provoked gossip and newspaper mentions for her divorce and remarriage to a prominent Bostonian who was also divorced, Welch was a writer, lecturer, lobbyist, fundraiser, opinion shaper and indefatigable activist for women’s suffrage and land conservation, among other topics. Fideler is a trustee of the Framingham Public Library and a research fellow at the Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. Read an interview with Fideler in the Boston Globe.
Shrayer interview
Boston College Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies Maxim D. Shrayer was interviewed by Jewish Telegraphic Agency about his recent book, With or Without You: The Prospect for Today’s Jews in Russia (Academic Studies Press, 2017). Part historical and cultural investigation, and part memoir and travelogue, With or Without You is a portrait of Russia’s dwindling, but still vibrant and influential Jewish community. Shrayer is the author/editor of more than 15 books, including the memoirs Waiting for America: A Story of Emigration, Leaving Russia: A Jewish Story (2013 National Jewish Book Award finalist), and Yom Kippur in Amsterdam. JTA article “A son of refuseniks chronicles the slow dissolve of Russia’s Jews.”
BC Bookmarks 