Notre Dame partners in Dublin launch virtual series on Newman's "The Idea of a University”
The Notre Dame Dublin Global Gateway and the Notre Dame - Newman Centre for Faith and Reason have launched a new, four-part international series to celebrate the first anniversary of the canonization of Saint John Henry Newman—theologian, poet, convert, and founder of the Catholic University of Ireland. “Thinking with Newman: Educating with Intention Today” will explore Newman’s seminal work, The Idea of a University, and its contemporary relevance to educational challenges faced today during the COVID-19 crisis.
This international conversation honoring Newman’s educational legacy will be moderated by Rev. Gary Chamberland, C.S.C., director of the Notre Dame-Newman Centre for Faith and Reason, and Professor Kevin Whelan, director of the Notre Dame Dublin Global Gateway—available exclusively on the Notre Dame Alumni Association’s ThinkND platform.
“St. John Henry Newman's insights into the purposes and values of a university still inform higher education today and should be studied by anyone concerned with the future of learning,” said University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. “At Notre Dame, our mission is very much inspired by Newman’s conviction that education, far from being a simple transfer of knowledge, must involve the formation of the whole person within the context of a community of learners.”
The “Thinking with Newman” series will be aired live from Newman University Church—a landmark of Dublin city center, designed by Newman in 1856 and described as “the most beautiful Church in the three Kingdoms.”
Since 2016, Notre Dame has stewarded University Church at the invitation of the Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin. Under the direction of President Jenkins, the Notre Dame-Newman Centre for Faith and Reason at University Church was established, expanding the University's presence in Dublin and deepening the appreciation of Newman’s work and his dedication to the engagement of faith and culture in modernity.
Over three weeks, Fr. Chamberland and Professor Whelan will engage with participants through supplementary videos and reading materials as they dive into questions centered around the relevance of Newman’s work today, the value of a university education, the enduring legacy of Newman’s insights; and the challenges posed by living out Newman’s ideals today in our conflicted and COVID-afflicted world.
Guest speakers will join Fr. Chamberland and Professor Whelan in conversation during the live “Thinking with Newman” sessions. In the spirit of Newman’s dedication to an intellectually rigorous and diverse civil engagement, speakers will range from frontline leaders in the Church, education and business, from lay people to clerics, university students to presidents, from Ireland to the United States—all challenged to thoroughly examine the overarching questions of the series, “What defines a University and how do we educate with intention today?”
Mass will be celebrated on October 11, 2020, in Newman University Church live-streamed from Dublin for participants around the world to join in a liturgical celebration of the first anniversary of Saint John Henry Newman’s canonization.
Partners of the “Thinking with Newman” series include the Office of the President, the College of Arts and Letters, the Office of Mission Engagement and Church Affairs, Notre Dame International, the Keough Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, the Institute for Educational Initiatives, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, ND Learning, ESTEEM, and the Notre Dame Alumni Association.
The ”Thinking with Newman” series launches on October 7, 2020. Registration is required.
Originally published by at dublin.nd.edu on September 21, 2020.