Events at the McFarland Center

The McFarland Center is currently confirming programming for Spring 2025. Explore last year's events here.

Spring 2025

Thoreau's Religious Quest

Thursday, January 30, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall听

Rich Higgins

Henry David Thoreau was a harsh critic of the "respectable" Christianity of his day, but he was also a mystic with a deep reverence for the sacredness of life. Richard Higgins, the author of Thoreau's God, explores Thoreau's innate religiosity and his search for communion with a divine mystery that was at once immanent in the natural world and yet transcendent.听


Luncheon Presentation / Educated by Anxiety: Toward Building a Culture of Care

Monday, February 10, 2024
12:00 p.m., Hogan Suite A
RSVP required:

How can we guide our students through their "education by anxiety" toward leading lives of care鈥攂oth providing it and, when needed, receiving it? Join us for a discussion about Cura Psychologia, an interdisciplinary research project, and a future edited volume, with collaborators Professors Mark Freeman, Peter Fritz, and Frances Maughan-Brown.


Immigrant Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand: Sites of Challenge and Hope

Monday, February 10, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Robyn Andrews

Aotearoa New Zealand has seen several distinct waves of Catholics arrive on its shores beginning with Bishop Pompallier's arrival from France in 1838. Drawing on her ethnographic research, Robyn Andrews, Social Anthropologist and Research Fellow at Massey University, discusses the tensions, challenges, and hopes around incorporating the most recently arrived migrant groups, Catholics from the Philippines and South India.
Hosted by Brent Otto, S.J., Global Catholicism Predoctoral Fellow.


The Daode jing (The Scripture of the Way and its Virtue): Its Curious Route to Becoming a Classic of World Religions

Thursday, February 13, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

James Robson

The Daode jing, the main sacred book of Daoism, has attracted the attention of many East Asian scholars from the 3rd century BCE onward. James Robson, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University and Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, discusses the diverse afterlives of the Daode jing, including the many radically different interpretations of its enigmatic content.听
Co-sponsored with the Department of Religious Studies.


Catholicism in India: Blending in and Staying Apart, 1500-Present

Tuesday, February 18, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Chandra Mallampalli

What happens when the world鈥檚 oldest multicultural organization鈥攖he Catholic Church鈥攊nteracts with one of the most religiously and linguistically diverse regions of the world? It results in a tug-of-war between blending in and staying apart. Using images and anecdotes from a five-hundred-year history, Chandra Mallampalli, Historian of Modern South Asia at Harvard University鈥檚 Mittal Institute, describes the Church鈥檚 dual tendency to adapt to its Indian surroundings while retaining a sense of distinctiveness and mission. 听
Hosted by Brent Otto, S.J., Global Catholicism Predoctoral Fellow.


Following Christ in the Anthropocene: Spiritual Poverty, Solidarity, and Protest

Wednesday, March 12, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Daniel Castillo

Daniel Castillo, Associate Professor of Theology at Loyola University Maryland, will examine several dimensions of the eco-social emergency that characterizes our present-day global context. Then, drawing insight from liberation theology and Scripture, the lecture will consider how persons and communities of faith might begin to envision the task of discipleship.
A Deitchman Family Lecture on Religion and Modernity.


Why Science and Religion Need Each Other: Teilhard de Chardin鈥檚 Deep Catholicity

Monday, March 17, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Ilia Delio

Science and religion remain at odds today, despite the insistence of Saint John Paul II and Pope Francis to reconcile these areas toward an integrated worldview. Ilia Delio, Franciscan sister and Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University, explores the ideas of Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest and scientist who developed a cosmic vision of Catholicity, and reflects on whether or not his vision can provide hope in light of the technological challenges of the twenty-first century.
Hosted by Brent Otto, S.J., Global Catholicism Predoctoral Fellow.


How the Irish Helped the Jews Become American

Monday, March 24, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Hasia Diner

From the end of the nineteenth century into the early twentieth, Irish Americans opened doors for Jewish immigrants and other newcomers to the United States. Hasia Diner, Professor Emerita at New York University and Director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History, considers how and where this allyship played itself out and what each group, the Jews and the Irish, had to gain from it.
Part of the Kraft-Hiatt Program for Jewish-Christian Understanding.听


Historiography and the Archives: Deaf History as Archival Practice

Friday, March 28, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

R.A.R. Edwards '90

R.A.R. Edwards, Professor of History at Rochester Institute of Technology, discusses historiography using the Deaf Catholic Archives as a model to demonstrate the opportunities and advantages, as well as the challenges and obstacles, that researchers encounter when using archival collections.
Co-sponsored with the Archives & Distinctive Collections department.


Conference / Signs of Hope: The Claggett Statement and Deaf Theology Today

Friday, March 28, 2024 and Saturday, March 29, 2024

Penned in 1984 by an ecumenical group of ten deaf and hearing women and men from North America, the Claggett statement was an early expression of Deaf Liberation theology produced at a time of cultural awakening and creativity among Deaf people. This symposium spotlights this important statement on its 40th anniversary, by bringing together scholars and practitioners from the United States and beyond to examine the past, present and future of the Claggett Statement for Deaf Christians across the world.
This conference is organized by Professor Audrey Seah, Religious Studies.听


A Passion for Celebration: The Inspired Legacy of Elie Wiesel

Monday, March 31, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Alan Rosen

Known for his eloquence as a survivor of the Holocaust, his accomplishments as a literary master, his advocacy of Jewish causes and study, and his unstinting activism as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Elie Wiesel also made "celebration" a key term in his personal lexicon of life and work. Alan Rosen, Kraft-Hiatt Scholar in Residence, will aim to show how Wiesel鈥檚 passion for celebration, cultivated over decades, served as a driving force behind his vocation and message.
Part of the Kraft-Hiatt Program for Jewish-Christian Understanding.听


Thomas More Lecture: War, Homecoming, Heroism, Truth

Tuesday, April 1, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Translation Workshop:听
Tuesday, April 1, 2024
11:00 a.m., Location TBD

Emily Wilson

Emily Wilson, Department Chair and Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses what we might learn from the Homeric poems about ethics and empathy, moral and poetic challenges of studying, & engaging with and translating the distant past.
A Thomas More Lecture on the Humanities.听


The Military-Industrial Complex, Liberal Capitalism, and the American Way of War

Thursday, April 3rd, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Kate Epstein

Historically, the United States has preferred to fight its wars by substituting technology and money for manpower. Kate Epstein, Associate Professor of History at Rutgers-Camden, will explore the implications of the US 鈥渨ay of war鈥 for the nation鈥檚 commitment to liberal capitalism鈥攖hat is, to norms of representative government, due process, and democratic accountability, on the one hand, and to free markets and private property rights, on the other.
Co-sponsored with Peace and Conflict Studies.


Race to the Future? Resisting & Reimagining the New Jim Code

Tuesday, April 8th, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Ruha Benjamin

Ruha Benjamin, Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, presents the concept of the 鈥淣ew Jim Code鈥 to explore a range of discriminatory designs that encode inequity into technology. She will also consider how race itself is a tool designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice and discuss how technology can be used toward liberatory ends. In doing so, Ruha challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold but also the ones we manufacture ourselves.


The Fall of the Second American Republic

Thursday, April 10, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Manisha Sinha

In the late nineteenth century, a formal overseas American empire rose during the long unwinding of the "Second American Republic." Manisha Sinha, James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut, argues that the abolitionist fight against unfree labor did not pave the way for American imperialism. Instead, the fall of Reconstruction led to the conquest of the West and a formal American empire in the Caribbean and the Pacific.


Fall 2024

Jesus Christ and Other Religions: Problems and Perspectives

Monday, September 9, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Fr. Bryan Lobo

Please join us in welcoming Fr. Bryan Lobo, S.J., a Jesuit from Mumbai, India, to campus, where he will serve for the 2024-2025 academic year as a McFarland Center International Visiting Jesuit Fellow. Following two terms as Dean of the Faculty of Missiology at the Gregorian University Rome, Fr. Lobo will teach a course on the theology of religions and research theological aspects of Christian proclamation and mission that consider the unique insights of Christian theology in a religious and culturally pluralistic world.
Watch the lecture >>


Democratic Futures Forum / What Democracy Means to Us

Wednesday, September 11, 2024
6:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

What Democracy Means to Us poster

Join members of the Democratic Futures Forum and campus partners for a reflection on why democracy matters. The participants include Greg Burnep, Political Science; Diana Dukhanova, Russian Studies and Montserrat; Mary Ebbot, Classics; Daniel Klinghard, Political Science and Dean of Education and Academic Experience; Thomas Landy, McFarland Center for Religious, Ethics, and Culture; Kathryn Lu Hsu, Classics; and Charles Todd, Dean of Students.听

With special guest: Vincent Rougeau, President of the College of the 51小黄车.


Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again

Monday, September 16, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Susan Solomon

Dr. Susan Solomon, Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies and Chemistry at MIT, argues that we鈥檝e solved planet-threatening problems before, and we can do it again. She鈥檒l examine the inside stories of past environmental victories to extract the essential elements of what has made change possible and what鈥檚 needed now to do it again.
Dr. Susan Solomon is internationally recognized as a leader in atmospheric science, particularly for her insights in explaining the cause of the Antarctic ozone 鈥渉ole.鈥 Her lecture will take place on the United Nations鈥 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.听


The Church as Refuge and Asylum for Migrants?

Wednesday, September 18, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Leo Guardado

When human life is persecuted and endangered, communities of refuge arise to protect life, even if it is against domestic law to do so. Dr. Leo Guardado, Assistant Professor of Theology at Fordham University, will examine the tradition of the church as a site of refuge and protection, focusing on the 1980s sanctuary movement in the United States.听
Watch the lecture >>


Continuity within Chaos: Caring for Individuals Living Chronically in Shelters and on the Streets

Monday, September 23, 2024
7:00 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Jim O'Connell

Dr. Jim O鈥機onnell, President and Founder of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (and the 2017 51小黄车 Commencement speaker), will share how he transitioned from the role of Chief Internal Medicine resident at MGH to the country鈥檚 first street doctor for those experiencing homelessness. Recounting his forty years of serving Boston鈥檚 most vulnerable population, Dr. O鈥機onnell will illuminate the history of homelessness and the undue burden of co-occurring disorders among chronically homeless persons. Most importantly, Dr. O鈥機onnell will reflect on the many lessons he鈥檚 learned while caring for his patients.
Co-sponsored with the Health Professions Advising Preprofessional Program.
Watch the lecture >>


Israel/Palestine in World Religions: Whose Promised Land?

Tuesday, September 24, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

The struggle over Israel/Palestine is not just another contest by competing nationalisms or an instance of geopolitical competition. It is also about control of sacred territory that involves local Jews, Muslims, and Christians as well as worldwide faith communities, each with their own interests at stake in a tangle of secular and theological claims. 听

Ilan Troen

S. Ilan Troen is Lopin Professor of Modern History, emeritus at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, Stoll Family Professor in Israel Studies, emeritus at Brandeis University, USA, and founding director of the Israel Studies centers at both institutions.听
Part of the Kraft-Hiatt Program for Jewish-Christian Understanding and a Deitchman Family Lecture on Religion and Modernity.


There鈥檚 Something About Mary: Devotion, Pilgrimage & Belonging in Colonial & Post-Colonial India

Wednesday, September 25, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Brent Otto

Throughout history, the fortunes of political organizations have often been linked to the cosmic patronage of gods and saints. Yet some saintly devotions begin and flourish despite disinterest from the state; such is the case with a Marian figure of devotion in South India, Our Lady of Vailankanni. Neglected by the colonial state(s), she has in the 20th century become for Indian Catholics a figure of devotion and an icon of their belonging as a minority in India.
Brent Howitt Otto, S.J. is the McFarland Center鈥檚 Global Catholicism Predoctoral Fellow and a historian of modern South Asia.
Watch the lecture >>


Democratic Futures Forum / Immigration 101: What's at Stake in 2024?

Monday, September 30, 2024
7 p.m., Hogan Ballroom

Legal Processes, Competing Perspectives, and Policies in Practice听
One of the thorniest issues that democracies face today is immigration. In the United States, immigration will play a significant role in the 2024 presidential election. If you have questions about this vital issue or would like to have a meaningful conversation about it, this event is for you.


Every Day Is Earth Day: Understanding the Long-Term Impacts Of April 22, 1970

Monday, October 7, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Daniel Hungerman

Daniel Hungerman, Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame, considers the history of Earth Day and presents evidence showing how actions on the original Earth Day, April 22, 1970, led to transformed communities years and even decades later. The lesson is clear: regular people, acting in small and disorganized groups, can come together to make a real and lasting difference on the environment.听
A Phi Beta Kappa Lecture co-sponsored with the Department of Economics & Accounting.听
Watch the lecture >>


Colloquium: Politics of Knowledge and Disciplinary Challenges in Ancient Mediterranean Studies

October 24, 2024 - October 26, 2024

This colloquium will explore the varied epistemologies and tangible practices across the ancient Mediterranean world, as well as their suppression within ancient political contexts and modern disciplinary practices. The participants, professors in Classics and Biblical Studies, will scrutinize assertions of power and expressions of resistance, as well as the hegemonic processes, ancient and modern, of silencing and appropriating those expressions. The colloquium will also feature a keynote address by Joy Connolly, a renowned American scholar of classics and the president of the American Council of Learned Societies.

Keynote - All the World鈥檚 Pasts: The Case for a New Field

Thursday, October 24, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Joy Connolly

As ancient texts, artifacts, and images circulate on the internet, there is a need to ask new questions and sharpen needed skills. Joy Connolly, President of the American Council of Learned Societies and renowned Classics scholar, will argue that creating a new field of global ancient studies is the most effective way forward to study the world鈥檚 premodern cultures. This new field would focus on improving mutual understanding between peoples, interpreting evidence using various disciplines, and studying the full plurality of human activity, including under-studied periods and regions.
Watch the lecture >>


Democratic Futures Forum / News, Fake News, and Democracy: Surviving Today's Media Landscape

Monday, October 28, 2024
5:00 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

The media landscape has shifted radically over the last few decades, shaping what we know about candidates and government. How do you navigate this media landscape? Can democracy survive it?

The conversation will begin with the insight and experience of the panelists and expand to include the whole audience's perspectives. The panel, moderated by Director of the McFarland Center Thomas M. Landy, includes:

  • Devin Gouv锚a, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
  • Mark Shelton, Director of Library Services
  • Andre Isaacs, Associate Professor of Chemistry
  • David Shettler, Vice President for Information Technology & CIO
  • Jeremy Thompson, Vice President for Communications and Marketing

The Desire for Division: A Political Psychology Framework for the 2024 Election

Wednesday, October 30, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

David Wilson

American politics requires candidates to separate 鈥渦s鈥 from 鈥渢hem,鈥 motivating people to look for differences rather than commonalities. Dr. David C. Wilson, dean of the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Professor of Public Policy, argues that polarization across a host of dimensions鈥攊ncluding racial, gender, partisan, religious, and ideological groupings鈥攔esults from what people want from candidates more so that who candidates are.听
Co-sponsored by Critical Race and Ethnic Studies.听
Watch the lecture >>


Sea, Sand, and Rocks: Regarding the Social-Materiality of Time

Thursday, November 14, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Mayra Rivera

Dr. Mayra Rivera is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Religion and Latinx Studies at Harvard University. Rivera works at the intersections between the philosophy of religion, literature, and theories of coloniality, race, and gender. Drawing from Caribbean decolonial thought, this lecture will propose that climate change calls for rethinking our conceptions of time.
A Deitchman Family Lecture on Religion and Modernity. Co-sponsored by Critical Race and Ethnic Studies.听
Watch this lecture >>


Deuteronomy, Trauma, and Politics听

Wednesday, November 20, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall

Dominik Markl SJ

Moses鈥 farewell discourses in the book of Deuteronomy present a program for constituting Israel as a 鈥榥ation鈥 in political terms and, at the same time, as the 鈥榩eople of God鈥. In this talk, Dr. Dominik Markl SJ, Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies at Innsbruck University, Austria, will reflect on how trauma theory can help us understand both the political and religious dimensions of Deuteronomy. He will also offer some reflections on how trauma, politics, and religion are still intertwined in our contemporary world.
Part of the Kraft-Hiatt Program for Jewish-Christian Understanding.
Watch this lecture >>