‘Culture and Thought’ Archives
Owning beauty: The suburb in the American imagination, Part IV
Notre Dame’s School of Architecture is well known for its new urbanist tendencies, but I think what is more important is our unspoken credo that pretty much anywhere below the Arctic Circle can be made beautiful, comfortable, and prosperous; in short, a great place to live. To do so requires vision, and sensitive, informed development - but it can be done. Our endless outpouring of schemes [...]
“Women and Spirit” highlights contributions of women religious
“We offer you no salary; no recompense; no holidays; no pensions, but much hard work; a poor dwelling; few consolations; many disappointments; frequent sickness; a violent or lonely death.” So ran an advertisement for the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Aberdeen, South Dakota, penned by Mother M. John Hughes in the late nineteenth century. It captures the generous and courageous [...]
Owning beauty: The suburb in the American imagination, Part III
The mortgage interest deduction (MID) is a well-known tax incentive, the popularity of which arguably exceeds its efficacy. The typical rationale is that it promotes homeownership. It attempts to do this by making it easier for the taxpayer to increase his ability to borrow for the purchase of a home. There are several problems here. First, it is generally claimed that elimination of the [...]
Four Lions: An unexpected comedy
As part of the Nanovic Institute Film Series, “Europe Beyond Borders,” which explores the relationship between Europe and countries near and far, the film FOUR LIONS was showcased at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on November 8. The director, Christopher Morris, discussed his film prior to the showing. Before he made his appearance though, Christine Becker, an associate professor in the [...]
On the way we are one
My experience on the Camino de Santiago With a 15-pound hiking pack with all of my worldly possessions for the next three weeks strapped to my back, I took a deep breath and set out on the Way. Which way? I looked around, spotted a yellow arrow painted on the side of a building, and turned left to follow it. So which way? I was taking my first steps on the Way of St. James, or as it is known [...]
Owning beauty: The suburb in the American imagination, Part II
At the end of my last column, I outlined two important arguments about the social contract between companies and people. Based on an ownership-driven model, Milton Friedman states that a company “cannot act effectively as a moral agent for all of its shareholders,” and that assets “diverted to social causes undermine market efficiency.” It is relevant to consider whether these [...]
Rising historian Tara Zahra wins Nanovic’s prestigious award
Earlier this month, historian Tara Zahra, a professor at the University of Chicago, received the Laura Shannon Prize from the Nanovic Institute for her book KIDNAPPED SOULS: NATIONAL INDIFFERENCE AND THE BATTLE FOR THE CHILDREN IN THE BOHEMIAN, 1900-1948. This award is presented annually to an author within the humanities who contributed significantly to the literature of European studies. It [...]
David Solomon speaks on the importance of the little-known Ward family
The Center for Ethics and Culture continued its fall series, “Victorian Catholics: Penning the Grandeur of God,” with a recent lecture on the Ward family by Philosophy Professor David Solomon, the center’s director. Solomon described the Ward family as “one of the most vexed topics, I think, in the history of Catholic culture over the last 200 years.” He argued that, though [...]
MTV star gives advice to undergrads on career search
Nationally-renown Career Coach and star of MTV’s HIRED!, Ryan Khan (or rather, Ryan Kahn’s people) contacted the IRISH ROVER with an exclusive interview offer. Ryan lectures to thousands of students each year, and links hundreds of graduates with their dream career. Featured in the WALL STREET JOURNAL, USATODAY, YAHOO! NEWS, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, STAR, the HUFFINGTON POST, and now the IRISH [...]
Owning beauty: The suburb in the American imagination, Part I
In this column, I will once again be looking beyond the verdant, rain-soaked parklands of Notre Dame. Besides avoiding running out of buildings to cover, I feel that this column can and ought to address larger trends in architecture. In support of this mission, I intend to spend the next few installments discussing the suburb. It has long been a subject of great fascination to me, and it is [...]
Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez discuss new film “The Way”
An early showing of a new film that depicts a father’s life-altering journey across the historical “El Camino de Santiago,” also known as the way of St. James, was recently presented at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. In an interview with THE IRISH ROVER, Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen explained the decisions to screen their film at Notre Dame. A father-son collaboration, “The [...]
“Penning the grandeur of God”: English professor examines life and work of poet Gerard Manley Hopkins
Ron Hansen, professor of English at Santa Clara University, delivered a lecture on the life and poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins to an audience of students, faculty, staff, and community members. Hansen told the story of the friendship between a pair of polar opposites: Hopkins, a convert to Catholicism who was ordained a Jesuit priest and whose lifelong habit of writing poetry garnered him [...]
The Column: Geddes Hall
Completed in 2009, Geddes Hall figures prominently among the recent cohort of buildings erected on Notre Dame’s campus. It is located opposite the LaFortune Student Center on Fieldhouse Mall. Geddes Hall was built to be a home for the Center for Social Concerns and its sister initiatives within the Institute for Church Life. Weighing in at 64,000 square feet, the facility offers [...]
“The Epic and the Intimate”: French Drawings from the John D. Reilly ’63 Collection
The Snite Museum of Art recently opened its new French drawings exhibition with a lecture by Margaret Morgan Grasselli, Curator of Old Master Drawings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Grasselli received her PhD from Harvard, specializing in old master drawings. This exhibition, “The Epic and the Intimate: French Drawings,” was assembled by Cheryl Snay, the Snite's [...]
Rodzinka: Intellectual and personal development at the family dinner table
Around the nation, a new breed of collegiate clubs is flourishing. These clubs, like the influential Anscombe Society at Princeton University, provide students with a supportive environment in which to talk about love, fidelity, and family. Rodzinka, meaning “little family” in Polish, is Notre Dame’s version of such a student organization. Largely supported by the Love and Fidelity [...]