Boisi Center staff members regularly teach courses at Boston College in political science and theology, the latter of which are also open to students in the Boston Theological Institute. The Center also offers Boston College students, faculty, staff and alumni the opportunity to join annual symposia, in which participants read and discuss primary texts and current events related to religion and politics.聽
Past educational initiatives include聽summer seminars on religion and public life for American college professors (supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities) and for foreign Muslim religious leaders and scholars (supported by the U.S. State Department) and the Catholic Intellectual Traditions Seminar, held in 2009, in which a diverse body of faculty members discussed opportunities offered by Catholic intellectual traditions.
Faculty Seminars
The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life hosts year-long faculty seminars during the academic year on various topics relevant to today's society.聽 It is an interdisciplinary seminar among ten - twelve Boston College faculty members across different disciplines to help bridge the gap in dialogue and foster conversations.
The Boisi Center hosted a year-long faculty seminar during the 2017-18 academic year, "What Does Citizenship Mean in America Today?" It was an interdisciplinary dialogue among twelve 51茶馆 faculty on the role and meaning of citizenship in contemporary America, as well as the prospects for democracy in the new landscape of American culture.
Among the "big ideas" considered: the distinction between legal and normative conceptions of citizenship, and the implications of each; the relationship between ethnic nationalism, multiculturalism, and "globalism" (and thus "global citizenship"); "civil religion" and its various critics; the ethical impulses informing political activism; civil disobedience and prophetic witness; the concept of open borders; and the viability of past "answers" (such as "Christian realism").
Faculty Symposium 2017鈥�2018 Participants
- Jeff Bloechl, philosophy
- David Deese, political science
- Frank Garcia, law
- Candace Hetzner, associate dean for academic affairs, GMAS
- Ken Himes, O.F.M., theology
- M. Cathleen Kaveny, law & theology
- Mark Massa, S.J., theology
- Arissa Oh, history
- Erik Owens, theology
- Vincent Rougeau, law
- Martin Summers, History and African and African Diaspora Studies Program
- Mara Willard, visiting scholar
Recap
Over the course of the 2017-2018 academic year, Mark Massa, S. J., convened an inter-disciplinary faculty seminar on the theme of 鈥淐itizenship.鈥� Each meeting was held at the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, represented by both Erik Owens and Mara Willard. Candace Hetzner joined from the Morrissey College鈥檚 Office of the Dean, and spoke from her perspective in political science, along with David Deese who represented the department of political science. Jeffrey Bloechl provided insights from the faculty of philosophy. From the Law School came Vincent Rougeau, Frank Garcia, and M. Cathleen Kaveny. Theology was represented by Kenneth Himes (and Kaveny). Arissa Oh and Martin Summers provided perspectives from history.
In a capstone session, participants reflected upon the tremendous success of the faculty seminar. Connections over lunch and the exchange of ideas across disciplines had succeeded in deepening collegiality and intellectual curiosity across the schools of Boston College. Global citizenship proved to be a robust organizing site for the sharing of brief, externally-sourced papers that sparked analysis and conversation. The conversations ranged from theological anthropology to 鈥渄eep green religion,鈥� from the importance of institutions in maintaining the strength of civil society to legal and cultural questions about whether believers participate as equal citizens in American life. Each were agreed to be unusually smart, connected to the trying issues of the day, and yet leavened by friendship and sustenance.
The faculty seminar for academic year 2018/19 was entitled 鈥淟iberal Arts Education in the Age of Trump.鈥澛� It featured a cadre of distinguished faculty from across Boston College.
Its participants were: Paulo Barrozo, associate professor in the Law School; Mary Crane, Thomas F. Rattigan Professor in the English department; Andrew Davis, associate professor of Old Testament at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (STM); Franklin Harkins, associate professor of historical theology and church history at the STM; Mark Massa, S.J., director of the Boisi Center; Eve Spangler, associate professor in the sociology department; Eileen Sweeney, professor in the philosophy department; Eric Weiskott, associate professor in the English department; James Weiss, associate professor in the theology department; and Patricia Weitzel-O鈥橬eill, executive director of the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education.
The conversations at this seminar ran the gamut, from discussions about new models of education, to why students are pushed to major in STEM fields, to the over-arching question: what are the liberal arts for?
The faculty seminar for academic year 2019/20 is entitled "Catholic and Jesuit Education: 51茶馆's Mission." It features a cadre of distinguished faculty from across Boston College.
This year's participants include: Boyd Coolman, theology department; Mary Crane, English department; Kerry Cronin, Perspectives Program and philosophy department; Susan Gennaro, Connell School of Nursing; Angela Harkins, School of Theology and Ministry; Maureen Kenny, Lynch School of Education and Human Development; Mark Massa, S.J., Boisi Center and theology department; Michael Magree, S.J., theology department; Theresa O'Keefe, School of Theology and Ministry; Eve Spangler, sociology department; Eileen Sweeney, philosophy department; Meghan Sweeney, Pulse Program and theology department; Andrea Vicini, S.J., theology department; and Melodie Wyttenbach, Roche Center for Catholic Education.
The "Renaming, Cancel Culture, and Race" year-long faculty seminar in 2020/2021 was both inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional: after numerous conversations over the summer between the director of the Boisi Center, Mark Massa, S.J. and Dr. Mark Silk, director of the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College Hartford, they launched an inter-institutional faculty seminar that met once a month, composed of seven 鈥媝articipants from Boston College and鈥� seven participants from Trinity College Hartford. They read widely and engaged each other on texts that discussed the religion-infused writing of Marilyn Robinson, the鈥� theologically-inflected song lyrics of Leonard Cohen鈥檚 famous songs of the sixties and seventies (which turned out to be full of religious symbols and tropes), and the state of church-state鈥� relations in the Republic of Ireland, articles which compared church/state separation in Ireland and the U.S., belle hooks鈥� reflections on teaching as a transgressive activity, and two chapters from Timothy Morton鈥檚 wonderfully provocative The Ecological Thought. The interchanges were rich and the 鈥渟ides鈥� that emerged during lively conversations had little or nothing to do with institutional affiliation (a happy realization).
During the fall 2020 semester, the Boisi Center partnered with the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning (ably led by Dr. Ruth Langer) in sponsoring a series of online seminars for 51茶馆 faculty entitled 鈥淩eligious Resources to Combat Racism.鈥� The seminar itself was envisioned as one component in the campus-wide Forum on Racial Justice in America initiated by 51茶馆鈥檚 President William P. Leahy, S.J. in August 2020 and directed by Vincent Rougeau. Over the course of three online seminar meetings during the month of October, a succession of very smart speakers led faculty conversations on the ways in which 51茶馆, as a Jesuit and Catholic institution, might address the terrible sin and injustice of racism. Speakers included Dean Vincent Rougeau (51茶馆 Law School), Drs. Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones and Joshua Snyder of 51茶馆鈥檚 theology department, Rabbi Benjamin Samuels of Congregation Shaarei Tefillah, Dr. Theresa O鈥橩eefe of 51茶馆鈥檚 School of Theology and Ministry, and Yavilah McCoy, CEO of Dimensions, Inc. The seminar meetings were a great success, and the participants requested that we continue to meet in the coming spring鈥� semester.
Links to the Zoom Meetings on YouTube are below:
Session I in our Faculty Seminar Series on Religious Resources to Combat Racism Co-sponsored with the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning. Speakers include Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones, theology department, Boston College; Vincent Rougeau Chair, Law School, Boston College; and the Convener: Mark Massa, S.J., Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston College.
The Second Faculty Seminar Series on Religious Resources to Combat Racism include speakers Theresa O'Keefe, School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College and Rabbi Benjamin Samuels, Congregation Shaarei Tefillah with Ruth Langer as Convener.
Third Faculty Seminar Series on Religious Resources to Combat Racism with speakers Yavilah McCoy, CEO, Dimensions, Inc.;聽 Joshua Snyder, theology department, Boston College and Ruth Langer as Convener.
During the spring 2021 semester, the faculty seminar series co-sponsored by the Boisi Center and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, was conceived as part of the broader, university-wide, 鈥淔orum on Racial Justice,鈥� Ruth Langer and Mark Massa sponsored three Zoom seminar meetings on discussions about race in the classroom to which all faculty and graduate students in the theology and philosophy departments at Boston College were invited to participate. The first meeting focused on 鈥�,鈥� on February 10, superbly convened by Marina McCoy of 51茶馆鈥檚 philosophy department and Meghan Sweeney, director of 51茶馆鈥檚 PULSE Program for Service Learning. The second meeting focused on 鈥溾�� on March 10, which was wonderfully led by Elizabeth Antus (theology) and Gregory Fried (philosophy). The third meeting focused on 鈥�,鈥� on April 7, masterfully led by Matthew Kruger (theology) and Mary Troxell (philosophy). Faculty and graduate students who took part commented that the discussions were rich and helpful. Links to the three videos on YouTube are provided.
During the fall 2021 semester, the Boisi Center collaborated鈥� again with the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning鈥� (CCJL) in a series of faculty seminars on Zoom. Planned鈥� with Dr. Ruth Langer, interim director of CCJL, three鈥� online seminars focused on 鈥淭eaching First-Generation鈥� Boston College Students,鈥� aimed at both faculty and鈥� graduate students teaching in the Core. Rossanna Contreras-Godfrey, director of 51茶馆鈥檚 famed Learning to Learn鈥� program, Yvonne (Ms. Smiley) McBarnett, program鈥� director of Montserrat, Andy Petigny, associate director of鈥� the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center, Burt鈥� Howell, executive director of Intersections, and Dacia Gentilella, assistant director of Outreach and Support Services at鈥� Learning to Learn, walked seminar participants through the鈥� spectrum of support services, special programs, and academic counseling available to 51茶馆鈥檚 鈥淔irst-Gen鈥� students. The鈥� program offered information that is crucial for all faculty and鈥� classroom instructors, as most of the 1500 students who are鈥� first generation college students at 51茶馆 remain 鈥渋nvisible鈥� to鈥� their instructors in the classroom. All three of these seminar鈥� meetings can be viewed on the Boisi Center's YouTube channel.
Rossanna Contreras-Godfrey, Yvonne McBarnett, and Andy Petigny introduce their offices and how they support first generation Boston College students and the services their offices offer. This was held via Zoom on September 23, 2021.
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Burt Howell is the executive director of Intersections at Boston College. As part of the seminar series, Teaching First-Generation Boston College Students, co-sponsored with the Boisi Center and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, Burt discusses the socio-economic factors that shape first-generation students and the Montserrat experience at 51茶馆. This was held via Zoom on October 14, 2021.
Part three in a series on Teaching First-Generation Boston College Students - held via Zoom on November 18, 2021. Presenter: Dacia Gentilella, English Department and Learning to Learn
During the academic year 2021/22, the Boisi Center hosted鈥� a monthly dinner seminar of very talented faculty from鈥� 51茶馆 and from further afield on the topic of 鈥淐apitalism.鈥滳onvened by Frank Garcia from 51茶馆鈥檚 Law School and Jim鈥� Henle from Harvard University, the group included Sanjay Reedy from鈥� the New School in New York, Susan Sibley from MIT, and Alan Shapiro from the Boston鈥� law firm of Sandulli Grace. The seminar was lucky to have鈥� such talented 51茶馆 faculty participants as Kim Garcia (English), Candace Hetzner (political science), Ken Himes鈥� (theology), Micah Lott (philosophy), Chandini Sankaran鈥� (economics), Laura Steinberg (incoming director of the new鈥� Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society), Eve鈥� Spangler (sociology), Vlad Perju and Katherine Young (both鈥� of 51茶馆鈥檚 Law School), and Boisi Center director Mark Massa.鈥�
Readings included a broad spectrum of authors and ideas,鈥� from Adam Smith鈥檚 Wealth of Nations to the multi-authored鈥� The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great鈥� Forces of Nature? (Crutzen, McNeill, and Steffen), and 鈥淗ow鈥� Capitalism Saves the Environment鈥� from Shi-Ling Hsu鈥檚鈥� Capitalism and the Environment: A Proposal to Save the Planet, Thomas Piketty鈥檚 Time for Socialism, Hamid Yeganeh鈥檚 Social Impacts of Large Multinational Corporations in the Age of Globalization, and Sandra Waddock鈥檚 Building a New Institutional Infrastructure for Corporate Responsibility. The conversations generated by these texts were dense, focused, and (more often than not) fun.
The Boisi Center collaborated again with the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning in a series of seminars created for theology faculty and graduate students: 鈥淭heology as Requirement: The Challenges of Teaching Theology in the Modern Academy.鈥� Each session was led by a faculty member and a graduate student and explored three important tasks professors of theology are challenged with undertaking in a modern university classroom. Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones and Nathan D. Wood-House began with 鈥淚ntroducing Theology,鈥� addressing how to teach those with a different or no experience of religion. Jeffrey L. Cooley and Domenik Ackermann followed with 鈥淐omplicating Theology鈥� and focused on students who do have some religious background, but one that might be more catechetical in nature. Meghan Sweeney and Katie Mylroie concluded the seminar with 鈥淧racticing Theology,鈥� discussing how to empower students to engage the discipline themselves through their own theological reflection or the use of theological skills in other aspects of their lives. Through these discussions, participants were equipped with helpful insights and new ideas about teaching Core theology courses.聽All three of these seminar鈥� meetings can be viewed on the Boisi Center's YouTube channel.
Session I (Wednesday, March 23, 2022): with Dr. Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones and Nathan D. Wood-House
This session focuses on models for introducing students from a religious cultures or backgrounds, or who come to the classroom from a different religious tradition, to the world of religion and theology. What practices do we engage to effectively invite students into a conversation they have not had (or have not had use for) to date? What other considerations are important for these foundational encounters with students?
Session II (Wednesday, April 13, 2022): with Dr. Jeffrey L. Cooley and Domenik Ackermann聽
This session explores the complicating of theology, focusing on teaching students who have been raised in the tradition being taught, but who have a catechetical understanding of their faith鈥攎ore black-and-white than nuanced. How do we distinguish catechesis from theology? How do we invite students to ask challenging questions of their tradition without fearing the risk of losing faith? How do we reconcile questioning tradition with commitment to it? What practices do we use to introduce nuance and complexity?
Session III (Wednesday, April 27): with Dr. Meghan Sweeney and Katie Mylroie
This session explores empowering students to take up the practice of theology as their own. How do we teach the skills necessary for theological reflection? What practices can draw out the theologies of our students? How do we invite students to think theologically about their experiences and/or relate them to the traditions from which they come? If they are not of a tradition, what skills can we give them to use in other aspects of their lives or in other disciplines?
Throughout the fall 2022 semester, a lively group of twelve faculty met monthly for dinner and conversation at Boisi in a faculty seminar entitled 鈥淩eligion and Politics in the U.S. After Dobbs.鈥� Reading widely over common texts as diverse as Mary Ann Glendon鈥檚 Abortion and Divorce in Western Law and legal commentaries on the Supreme Court鈥檚 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, colleagues from history, philosophy, sociology, theology, nursing, the School of Theology and Ministry, the Schiller Institute, and 51茶馆 Law took turns convening the always-interesting conversations. The experience was rich and rewarding.
During the spring 2023 semester, the Boisi Center鈥檚 interdisciplinary faculty seminar focused on 鈥淩eligious Nationalism.鈥� It was a broad-ranging series of monthly discussions that read about Israeli settlement in the occupied territories as well as social scientific studies of Americans who join Christian nationalist groups. The rotating convener model worked superbly in getting members from various departments at 51茶馆 to consider these issues from their own field of study (sociology, philosophy, history, nursing, theology, etc.). We were a smart but disparate group, but the point on which we all agreed was that the night we argued over ziti with chicken and asparagus was a high point for our dining experience.
Faculty Reading Group
The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life hosts an interdisplinary faculty reading group on prominent American Catholic intellectuals. These conversations include faculty from across Boston College schools and departments who meet once a month, centered around a dinner, to dissect and discuss a series of passages that follow the trajectory of an author's work. Our aim is to enhance a collective understanding of the Catholic intellectual tradition through the shared study of one of its most influential American figures, and to build lasting bridges between departments.
Spring 2019: Flannery O'Connor
During the spring semester of 2019 a faculty group convened by Jeff Bloechl (Philosophy) and Mark Massa (Theology / Boisi Center) met once each month to discuss the fiction, prose and graphic art of the southern Catholic writer, Flannery O'Connor.
The faculty reading group featured an equally interdisciplinary cast, including: Jeffrey Bloechl, associate professor in the philosophy department, Andr茅 Brouillette, S.J., assistant professor of systematic and spiritual theology at the STM; Catherine Cornille, professor and Newton College Alumnae Chair of Western Culture in the theology department; Mary Elliot, Boisi Center graduate research assistant; Sheila Gallagher, associate professor of studio art in the art department; Kimberly Garcia, who teaches creative writing in the English department; Candace Hetzner, associate dean for academic affairs in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences; Mark Massa, S.J., director of the Boisi Center; Jack Nuelle, interim assistant to the director at the Boisi Center; James O鈥橳oole, professor and Clough Millennium Chair in the history department; and Andrew Prevot, associate professor in the theology department.
The seminar was a lively examination of O鈥機onnor鈥檚 work, technique, and theology from various disciplinary perspectives. The group read several of her short stories, as well as varied critical perspectives of O鈥機onnor and her work.聽
2018: Thomas Merton
This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, social activist, and appreciative reader of non-Christian religious texts. Mark Massa, S.J. (Boisi Center, 51茶馆 theology) and Jeffrey Bloechl (51茶馆 philosophy) led monthly faculty discussions of selections from Merton鈥檚 writings.
Other participants included Brian Braman (51茶馆 philosophy), Andr茅 Brouillette, S.J. (51茶馆 School of Theology and Ministry), Catherine Cornille (51茶馆 theology), Sheila Gallagher (51茶馆 art, art history, and film), Kim Garcia (51茶馆 English), Kenneth Himes, O.F.M. (51茶馆 theology), Cyril Opeil, S.J. (51茶馆 physics), and James O鈥橳oole (51茶馆 history).
Wishing to trace Merton鈥檚 remarkable itinerary and thus gain a sense of the development of the man from monk to public figure, the seminar took up Merton鈥檚 works in chronological order. This also became the occasion to reflect on developments in the Church, modern culture and global awareness between 1941, when Merton entered Gethsemane Abbey in Kentucky, and 1968, when he died unexpectedly during a conference in Bangkok.聽