Apply here The Thought of René Girard Description: One of the most influential 20th century Catholic thinkers, René Girard transformed our understanding of culture, religion, and human behavior. His “mimetic theory” builds on the demystifying power of the Old and New Testaments to illuminate the religious history of mankind. Through an intensive reading of his more accessible works, in conjunction with the fiction of the greatest writers, this five-day seminar for undergraduate students will explore Girard’s key insights into imitation, conflict, and scapegoating, connecting them to central themes of Christian theology.   Location and Format: This seminar will be held...

Apply here National Institute of Newman Studies, Pittsburgh, PA Fr. Stephen Fields, SJ, Georgetown University Staff of the National Institute for Newman Studies Now in its twelfth year, this intensive seminar will examine the achievements of Saint John Henry Newman as a theologian, philosopher, educator, preacher, and writer. Remarkably, in each of these areas Newman produced works that have come to be recognized as classics: An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, The Grammar of Assent, The Idea of a University, and the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. This seminar will approach Newman’s thought through a critical engagement with these...

"The Lumen Christi Institute will host its second week-long seminar for recent PhDs interested in the Catholic intellectual tradition. In this seminar, participants will read, analyze, and discern continuities and discontinuities in Catholic social thought from the late 19th century to the present. Lectures, seminar reports, and discussion will focus on original sources (encyclicals and other magisterial documents), beginning with Rerum novarum (1892) and concluding with Caritas in veritate (2009) and Evangelii Gaudium (2013). This intensive course is multi-disciplinary, since this tradition of social thought overlaps several disciplines in the contemporary university including political science, political philosophy, law, economics, theology,...