Lumen Christi Institute

An Inquiry into the Value of Work: A Discussion of Matt Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft
2024-10-10 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | University Club of Chicago, 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603, Downtown, IL
REGISTER HERE
5:30 Cocktail and Hors d’Oeuvres | 6:30 Opening Remarks | 6:45 Dialogue and Q&A | 7:30 End
Through the generosity of LCI’s donors, undergraduate and graduate students are able to attend this event for free. Interested students should email Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org to register.
This event is cosponsored at The Point Magazine.
Published in 2009, Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft became an unexpected best-seller. Written by a University of Chicago PhD and motorcycle mechanic, the book explored the value of craftsmanship and manual work in a world increasingly dominated by technology and abstract thinking.
Drawing on his own experiences as a philosopher and motorcycle mechanic, Crawford argued that hands-on labor offers a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and autonomy often lacking in the world around us. The book delves into the intellectual and philosophical richness of craftsmanship, challenging the conventional wisdom that separates thinking from doing, and seeks to reintegrate man with the created world.
In this downtown conversation, Crawford will rehearse the major themes of his bestseller. He will then enter into conversation with experts in Catholic social thought, to discuss the ways in which his insights about purposeful work and craft resonate with the Church’s insights about the dignity of labor and the value of the created world.
Crawford will be joined by Kirk Doran, a University of Notre Dame economist and expert in labor economics and Catholic Social Thought, and Elisa Rubbo, a University of Chicago economist, whose research focuses on how macroeconomic variables affect different industries and labor markets.

What Can We Say About God? An Interview with David Novak on God-Talk
2025-05-09 11:30 - 13:00 | University Club of Chicago, 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603, Downtown, IL
11:15am Doors Open | 11:45am Welcome, Blessing, Lunch is Served | 12:00pm Interview | 1:00pm End
REGISTER HERE
The dress code and parking information for the University Club is here.
For questions, please email Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org.
This event is copresented by the Regenstein Foundation. It is cosponsored by Public Discourse, the Tikvah Fund, and Spertus Institute.

David Novak, one of the most distinguished Jewish theologians in the world, offers a new interpretation of how the Jewish people and the Jewish tradition talk about God. What does the Torah say about God? How does the God of the Torah talk about Himself? And how does the God of the Torah talk about human beings? The book traces the history and theology of God-talk in Judaism, and how it remains relevant, now more than ever, and speaks directly to contemporary issues such as human rights.

Join us over lunch as Melanie Barrett, professor of moral theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, interviews David Novak on his new book on God-talk in Judaism.

A Spiritual Manual for the Technological Age: A Discussion of Paul Kingsnorth's Against the Machine
2025-09-25 17:00 - 19:30 | University Club of Chicago, 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603, Downtown, IL
This event is full. You can register for the livestream below. To inquire about the waiting list for the in-person event, please email Margaux (Killackey) Taffet: mtaffet@lumenchristi.org.

“A Spiritual Manual for the Technological Age” is the Lumen Christi Institute’s 2025 Kolber Lecture.

REGISTER HERE (Online Only)
5:00 Cocktail and Hors d’Oeuvres | 6:00 Dialogue and Q&A | 7:30 End
“Our culture is not in danger of dying; it is already dead, and we are in denial. This, now, is the reality we have to wrestle with—and transcend.”
We all experience how the rapid advance of technology, especially AI, has affected the way we live, think, and experience the world. But has it also changed who we are? In his new book, Against the Machine: on the Unmaking of Humanity, Paul Kingsnorth explores the consequences of hyper-technologized society. With the deftness of an essayist who is also a poet, Kingsnorth takes us through the historical and theological roots of post-Industrial Revolution advancement. He ultimately suggests that the dangers we face have a spiritual cause, and spiritual consequences. “If you knock out the pillars of a sacred order,” he writes, “the universe itself will change shape.” This technological reshaping will lead man to become the machine—unless we can learn to transcend it.
Paul Kingsnorth is a poet, novelist, and essayist. He wrote his first book after traveling around the world to study the effects of globalization on culture; since then, he has written five other works of nonfiction, three novels, two collections of poetry, and has contributed essays to numerous journals, including First Things, The Guardian, London Review of Books, and The Ecologist. He also writes a popular Substack, “The Abbey of Misrule,” with a following of over 70,000 subscribers. Kingsnorth resides in Ireland with his family.
We at the Lumen Christi Institute are excited to host Paul Kingsnorth at the University Club as he takes his book tour for Against the Machine. The evening will begin at 5:00pm with cocktails and appetizers. At 6:00pm, Kingsnorth will bring us into the major themes of his book in dialogue with another great contemporary poet and cultural critic, James Matthew Wilson, followed by an audience Q&A, and a book signing. You may pre-order a signed copy of the book when you register.
Registration for the livestream will go live on September 1st.

The Turn to Tradition in American Law and Culture
2026-04-22 17:00 - 19:30 | Jenner & Block, 45th Floor, 353 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60654, United States
The Turn to Tradition in American Law and Culture
a panel discussion
Jenner & Block Law Offices (353 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654)
Wednesday, April 22
CLE Credit: Attorneys may receive one hour of general CLE meeting credit for attending the entire program. To attain credit, please sign up with your full name, email, and ARDC number at the registration table.

Individual tickets – $75 | Host Committee – $600 (includes 6 tickets) | A limited number of complimentary tickets are reserved for current students. Contact Margaux Taffet (mtaffet@lumenchristi.org) for more info.
5:00pm Cocktail and Hors d’Oeuvres | 6:00 Dialogue and Q&A | 7:30 End
Register Below
This American moment is one of alienation and dislocation. In personal relations, an “epidemic of loneliness” has emerged as in-person friendships dwindle. Politically and morally, what once seemed to be long-held convictions seem suddenly up for debate. Is there still a “We the People,” as the Constitution attests? Does anything still hold this people together?
It is at this moment that “tradition” has made a return. Whether in reference to legal interpretation, moral frameworks, or even the person-to-person connections that bind one to another, tradition is having a moment. From the New York Times to the Supreme Court to the Hallmark Christmas movie, tradition is now being presented as a cure for what ails us.
But what is tradition? Is it something that ought to be overcome or stewarded? Is it something static, or can it develop? What status should long-held traditions hold in the interpretation of the law? What legal status do religious traditions have, and what can development in religious tradition tell us about development of legal tradition?
In this conversation among cutting edge legal and philosophical minds, Marc DeGirolami will lay out some major themes of his new book The Constitution of Practice: On Law and Tradition. Richard W. Garnett and Jennifer Newsome Martin will join him in conversation on the nature of tradition, law, and religion.
This event is co-sponsored by the Catholic Lawyers Guild, the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, and Jenner & Block Law Office.
