To help deepen our efforts for inclusion and mission, ICTC invites faculty to join a study group entitled, “Is Inclusion Even Possible?” Building on an opening, “Educating for Justice Session” co-sponsored with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion on Thursday October 18th from 12:00 – 1:30 pm in STCN 160, together, the group will meet in a smaller group over a series of lunches led by faculty colleagues whose work engages both the theoretical and practical aspects of the tensions of inclusion and equity works in the university context.
The Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture seeks to contribute to the intellectual life of the university by creating opportunities to explore the intersection of faith and reason, of religion and culture, and of church and world. This “Is Inclusion Even Possible?” seeks to advance great interdisciplinary questions about inclusion and mission sponsored by the ICTC last year.
In the fall, Mr. Lucas Sharma, SJ and Dr. Jodi O’Brien will lead conversations asking what are the institutional limitations and tensions theoretically on November 5 and November 26 from 12:30-2:00pm in Casey 515.
In the winter quarter, Drs. Donna Teevan, Dan Dombrowski, Ali Mian, and Maria Bullon-Fernandez will lead us in discussion about how we see those theoretical tensions unfold here at SU on January 28, February 11, February 25, and March 11 from 12:30-2:00pm in Casey 515.
In the spring quarter, asking if inclusion is even possible, Drs. Jessica Imanaka, Dean Peterson, Holly Ferraro, and Serena Cosgrove will lead us in a conversation about concrete ways faculty members are working to embody and create inclusion here at Seattle University on April 15, April 29, and May 13 from 12:30-2:00pm in Casey 515.
A modest stipend will be offered to participants who are able to join for the entire series. Because space is limited, please send me an email with a brief statement of interest, including how this study circle may be of value to your work. Please an email to Lucas Sharma, SJ at sharmal@seattleu.edu. Participants will be contacted prior to November 5 with preparatory readings.
The ICTC sponsors faculty study groups from different disciplines during both the academic school year and for an eight day session during the summer. Each group studies topics related to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. The purpose of the study groups is to advance our understanding of how the Catholic Intellectual Tradition contributes to contemporary social issues and topics. Previous groups include topics such as Racial Justice and Ecological Justice and Catholic Teaching.
Are you a member of the faculty who seeks to deepen your commitment to racial justice? Are you curious to learn more about the complicated relationship between Catholicism and race? In view of contemporary events and social movements such as Black Lives Matter, the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture will sponsor an eight-day summer reading group for faculty focused on racial justice.
The format of the reading group will be seminar discussion of classic and contemporary texts at the intersection of social scientific, philosophical and theological thought on racism, as well as some practical training in dismantling racism. Two of the eight sessions will address a classic text in critical race theory, Cornel West’s Race Matters. Dr. Jeanette Rodriguez and Dr. Michael Jaycox (Theology and Religious Studies department) will co-facilitate. The group will meet June 20-23 and 27-30. Location TBD. Please RSVP to ictc@seattleu.edu to arrange for delivery of West’s book and the reader.
The Catholic Church has become increasingly vocal on the issue of climate change and ecological justice. In light of Laudato Si, the official statement of Pope Francis on the environment, and the university commitment to environmental justice and sustainability, the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture (ICTC) and the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (CEJS) invited faculty to apply for the 2015 Summer Faculty Study Group focused on ecology and its social justice implications in light of Catholic thought.
During this intensive, 8-day study group, faculty read classic and contemporary texts related to Catholic thought about creation, Earth and the relationship of ecological well-being to social justice. Our time also incorporated reflection about the nature of our relationship with non-human creation and invited participants to be open to thinking rigorously and feeling deeply about these issues.
SFSG 2014 Economy, Violence, and Justice Course Page
1. Create a cohort of faculty who will act as exemplars of civil discourse through respectful, critical, academic examination of important issues and who will contribute to an on-going dialogue within our campus community.
2. Practice the art of civil discourse in the face of highly contested social issues.
3. Encourage multidisciplinary critical research/scholarship that engages Catholic teaching and Catholic tradition in this area.
4. Deepen the knowledge and understanding of key issues related to the Catholic Church’s approach to the body and the contemporary challenges to this.
