Events

Fall 2020 Events

2020 Fall Endowed Lectures Series:  "A Year of Laudato Si"

Pope Francis recently declared May 24, 2020-May 24, 2021 a special year of observance in light of his encyclical, “Laudato Si.” He calls all of us “to work to create a more caring, fraternal, peaceful and sustainable world.” Join us for the following real-time, Zoom panels in the month of October. 

These events, sponsored by the Saint Mary's College Annual Endowed Lecture Series Fund, are free and open to the public.  To RSVP and receive a link to the virtual event, please email cfs@saintmarys.edu or call (574) 284-4636.

Monday, October 19th, 7 pm, Virtual event
The Reception of Laudato Si'
With Panelists:
María Teresa (MT) Dávila, PhD, Visiting Associate Professor of Practice of Religious and Theological Studies, Merrimack College
Daniel P. Horan, OFM, PhD, Duns Scotus Chair of Spirituality, Catholic Theological Union

María Teresa (MT) Dávila, focuses her energies on questions of ethics and public theology in the United States such as migrant and racial justice, the use of force, the role of government, and diverse visions of the common good. She grounds her efforts on the option for the poor as a central insight of who God is, how God acts in the world, and what ought to be the Church's character. She serves as visiting associate professor of practice of Religious and Theological Studies at Merrimack College. Along with her husband and four children, she participates in St. Joseph's Parish, Malden, MA.

Daniel P. Horan, OFM, PhD is the Duns Scotus Chair of Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he teaches systematic theology and spirituality, a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, and the author of twelve books including Catholicity and Emerging Personhood: A Contemporary Theological Anthropology(Orbis Books, 2019). Fr. Daniel regularly lectures around the United States and abroad; serves on a number of university, academic, and publication editorial boards, including the St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees, the Franciscan School of
Theology Board of Regents, and the Board of Directors of the International Thomas Merton Society. He is co-host of The Francis Effect Podcast.

Thursday, October 29^th, 7 pm, Virtual event
The Signs of the Times and Laudato Si'
With Panelists:
Stacy Davis, PhD, Professor of Religious Studies, Saint Mary’s College
Cassie Majetic, PhD, Professor of Biology, Saint Mary’s College
Andrew Pierce, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Saint Mary’s College

Stacy Davis is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies and Theology. She earned her doctorate from the University of Notre Dame and teaches courses in religious conversion, Jewish and Christian readings of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah, and the Prophets. She researches and writes about African American and feminist biblical interpretation.

Cassie Majetic is a professor in the Departments of Biology and Environmental Studies at Saint Mary’s College, teaching courses in introductory biology, evolution, environmental biology, conservation biology, plant-animal interactions and introductory environmental science.  Her research focuses on floral scent, plant chemistry, and plant-pollinator interactions.  Dr. Majetic currently serves as Director of the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the college, and has served as chair of the Department of Environmental Studies. She received her BS from Allegheny College (Meadville, Pennsylvania) in Biology, and her PhD from the Department of Biological Sciences’ Ecology and Evolution program at the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).

Andrew J. Pierce is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Justice Studies at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University Chicago. His specialization is social and political philosophy broadly conceived, with interests in critical theory and the philosophy of race. He is the author of several articles in these areas, as well as a book: Collective Identity, Oppression, and the Right to Self-Ascription.

 To RSVP, please email cfs@saintmarys.edu or call (574) 284-4636.