Episode Topic:  Contemporary Relevance of "The Idea of a University"

“The view taken of a University in these Discourses is the following:—That it is a place of teaching universal knowledge. This implies that its object is, on the one hand, intellectual, not moral; and, on the other, that it is the diffusion and extension of knowledge rather than the advancement. If its object were scientific and philosophical discovery, I do not see why a University should have students; if religious training, I do not see how it can be the seat of literature and science.”

- St. John Henry Newman (Preface, The Idea of a University)

This is how John Henry Newman began his first public discourse on educational theory from University Church on St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, where the Notre Dame - Newman Centre for Faith and Reason operates today. This week we will explore the contemporary relevance of Newman’s philosophy as established in The Idea of a University, a two-volume collection of Newman’s public lectures, published essays, and private writings that evolved from that first lecture in 1852 until his death in 1890. We begin our conversation by asking, how is Newman’s work still relevant to the challenges faced in education today, some 150 years on? 

Featured Speakers: 

• Rev. Gary Chamberland, C.S.C., Director of the Notre Dame  Newman Centre for Faith and Reason
• Kevin Whelan, Michael Smurfit Director of the Notre Dame Dublin Global Gateway
• Rev. Gerard J. Olinger, C.S.C., Vice President for Mission Engagement and Church Affairs at the University of Notre Dame

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: go.nd.edu/10fa5b.

This podcast is a part of the  Dublin International Dialogues Series titled "Thinking With Newman - Educating with Intention Today".

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