In this conversation, which was recorded last fall, we’re joined by Dr. Kathleen Marks, a UD graduate and Associate Professor of English at St. John’s University. We speak about Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel Beloved; how prophecy is not about predicting the future but investigating the past; and the impact of legendary professor Dr. Louise Cowan on her students and the world. Learn more about Liberal Learning for Life at the University of Dallas here: https://udallas.edu/liberal-learning/ Learn more about the Cowan Archive at the University of Dallas here: https://udallas.edu/centers/cowan/index.phpFinally, you can watch Dr. Marks' lecture, "Toni Morrison's Prophetic Memory," here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoUEvpWPsNQ

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Andrew Moran, Associate Professor of English, speaks about his recently-edited book about the University of Dallas Rome campus called Due Santi and The University of Dallas: Un Piccolo Paradiso. In our conversation, Dr. Moran speaks about why the Rome campus is so important and how the Rome experience offers students an expanded set of options for living; and finally, in preparation for your next trip abroad, Dr. Moran teaches us how to play the “get lost in Venice” game. You can order the book at https://www.duesantibook.com/.

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David Upham, Chair and Associate Professor of Politics, joins us for a conversation that was recorded three days after 9/11 and three days before Constitution Day. We speak about patriotism: what it is, and what is isn’t.

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Christopher Mirus, Associate Professor of Philosophy, joins us to discuss the importance of a researchers’ humanity in their scientific work, what philosophers of science do, and how we should think about the relationship between science and religion.

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Jonathan Dannatt, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, joins us to discuss the role of wonder in scientific research; the importance of writing and reading for success in the sciences; and the curious relationship between building a house and the discipline of chemistry.

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Scott Crider, Professor of English at UD, talks with us about Shakespeare and rhetoric: how rhetoric can help our lives go well (or badly), how we can glimpse these issues in the play Julius Caesar, and how Dr. Crider has found Shakespeare himself to be a liberal education.

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Music and the Liberal Arts with Prof. Kristen Van Cleve by Liberal Learning for Life @ University of Dallas

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In this conversation recorded last fall, Dr. Jodziewicz talks about Frederick Douglass, the 19th-century black American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. Dr. Jodziewicz explains why Douglass matters today and what his life can tell us about the benefits of one of the more unusual educations in the liberal arts.

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Dr. Gregory Roper, Associate Professor of English, joins us for a converation about what Dr. Roper calls "the Nerian Option." We talk about the 16th century Italian St. Philip Neri as the model for youth ministry; as offering not a plan, but a set of attitudes and approaches, focused on joy; and finally, we speculate about how Philip Neri might speak to those of us taking to the streets in acts of protest today.

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