“Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart” Conference to be Held at Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame
Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary’s College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 284-4579
March 12, 2015 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—The Center for Spirituality (CFS) at Saint Mary's College announces the conference, “Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart (Eph. 1:18): Cultivating a Sacramental Imagination in an Age of Pornography.” This academic and pastoral conference brings together psychologists, theologians, an iconographer, and others for an interdisciplinary exploration on the effect of pornography on the human imagination and relationships. The academic and pastoral conference is March 26-27. For more information about the “Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart” conference, visit saintmarys.edu/Seeing or call (574) 284-4636. Click here for a campus map.
The University of Notre Dame hosts the first day of events for this conference, and the second day’s events are held on Saint Mary’s campus. The conference is made possible by a grant from the Our Sunday Visitor Institute and cosponsors include the Belles Against Violence Office, Campus Ministry, and the Office of Student Affairs at Saint Mary's College; Campus Ministry, the Department of Theology, the Gender Relations Center, and the Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame; and the Division of History, Philosophy, and Theology at Holy Cross College.
The conference seeks to identify and develop resources from the Catholic and Christian traditions to enable us to behold in female and male humankind the divine image in which we are created and redeemed. Elizabeth Groppe, interim director of the Center for Spirituality, said, “this conference addresses and urgent need in our culture today. The Internet has made pornography readily accessible in a manner unprecedented in human history and intrusive into the lives of people who do not seek it out. According to Family Safe Media, 12 percent of websites are pornographic and 25 percent of search engine requests are for pornographic materials. Pornography has a chemical effect on the brain and easily becomes addictive. Moreover, research published in the journal Violence against Women found that 88 percent of the best-selling pornographic videos included physical aggression against women. What are the consequences of this for human integrity, relationships, children, youth, marriages, and families? In this context, how can we cultivate a sacramental imagination? The conference will probe these questions.”
Conference speakers will include William Struthers, associate professor of psychology at Wheaton College and author of Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain; Jill C. Manning, PhD, licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in research and clinical work on pornography and author of What’s the Big Deal about Pornography: A Guide for the Internet Generation; Gail Porter Mandell, professor emerita of Saint Mary's College; professors Kim Belcher, David Fagerberg, John Cavadini, and Jennifer Newsome Martin of the University of Notre Dame; and panels of student speakers.
Established in 1984, the Center’s purpose is to help build a theologically well-grounded spirituality among members of the College and greater South Bend community. World-renowned scholars come to Saint Mary’s to share their wisdom on contemporary religious issues and to address broader issues of how faith and reason interact.
About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, residential, women’s liberal arts college offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study, such as business, nursing, art, chemistry, and social work. By the fall of 2015, pending accreditations anticipated in the spring, Saint Mary’s College will offer two graduate degrees: a Master of Science and a Doctorate. All programs that fall under these degrees are co-educational and include a Master of Science in Data Science, a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Saint Mary’s College’s mission is to educate students, develop their talents, and prepare them to make a difference in the world. Saint Mary’s College ranks among the top 100 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges for 2015 published by U.S. News & World Report.