April 16-17, 2024: Catholic Political Thought in America
“America is the most democratic country in the world, and at the same time, according to reliable reports, it is the country in which the Roman Catholic religion is making most progress. That seems at first sight surprising” (Democracy in America).
PART 1 – APRIL 16, 2024 – 6:30-8:00PM – Watkins Room, Trone Student Center
PART 2 – APRIL 17, 2024 – 5:00-6:30PM – Hartness Dining Room
Public Intellectuals:
Patrick Deneen (Notre Dame)
Patrick J. Deneen is Professor of Political Science and holds the David A. Potenziani Memorial College Chair of Constitutional Studies at University of Notre Dame. He earned his BA and PhD degrees from Rutgers University. Early in his career he worked as Speechwriter and Special Advisor to the Director of the United States Information Agency. He also held positions at Princeton and Georgetown Universities before joining the faculty at Notre Dame in 2012. His books include The Odyssey of Political Theory: The Politics of Departure and Return; Democratic Faith; Conserving America: Essays on Present Discontents; Why Liberalism Failed; and Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future. He was awarded the APSA’s Leo Strauss Award for Best Dissertation in Political Theory in 1995, and an honorable mention for the APSA’s Best First Book Award in 2000.
Ross Douthat (New York Times)
Ross Douthat joined The New York Times as an opinion columnist in April 2009. His column appears every Tuesday and Sunday. He earned his BA from Harvard University. He is also a host on the weekly opinion podcast Matter of Opinion and writes film criticism for National Review. Previously, he was a senior editor at The Atlantic and a blogger on its website. He is the author, most recently, of The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery. His other books include The Decadent Society; To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism; Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics; Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream, co-authored with Reihan Salam; and Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class.
Leah Sargeant (author of Building the Benedict Option / Other Feminisms)
Leah Libresco Sargeant is a freelance writer covering religion, statistics, and as much theater as she can get tickets for. She earned a BA from Yale. Her writing has appeared in First Things, America, The American Conservative, Commonweal, The American Interest, and others. She is the author of Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers that Even I Can Offer, which tells the story of how she learned to pray. Her second book, Building the Benedict Option, is a guide to building thicker Christian community. She is the author of the substack “Other Feminisms” and hosts a podcast of the same name.