Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
18 FOLLOWERS
Liberal Learning for Life @ the University of Dallas features compelling, pithy, and rich conversations with UD friends and faculty.
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
When you hear the word “pan-Americanism,” what comes to mind, if anything does, is probably a defunct airline. But back in its day, “much bitter controversy” was waged about the slippery idea of pan-americanism. Why? What was the controversy about? We discuss these and other questions with Dr. Mark Petersen, Associate Professor of History at the University of Dallas and the author of the recent book, The Southern Cone and the Origins of Pan America, 1888-1933. Dr. Petersen explains how pan-Americanism developed from its origins as a US-led form of regional cooperation, what “the Americas” look ..read more
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
Randy Boyagoda is a Catholic who has written four novels, most recently, Dante's Indiana. Though he loves reading Flannery O’Connor, he confesses that at one point he was thoroughly sick of hearing about her. We discuss why that is so in today’s conversation among Randy, myself, and Shannon Valenzuela of the University of Dallas. We also explore the pleasures of immersive reading and why it’s worth training oneself to read deeply, what happens when a writer doesn’t love her characters, and how stories can train both the mind and the heart.
*********************
Free video series, “The Quest ..read more
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
"The Lord has really stripped me clean,” says Bishop James Conley of Lincoln.
Bishop Conley had lived a varied and exciting life: chaplain, pastor, longtime Roman resident, and now, a bishop. But when he took a yearlong medical absence because of depression and anxiety in 2019, he entered a new phase.
In this Living The Quest podcast conversation, Dr. Shannon Valenzuela, writer and director of The Quest, speaks with Bishop Conley about his experience, the importance of silence, and how he came to see the truth that in giving ourselves away we discover who we really are.
Learn mor ..read more
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
When you the hear the phrase “liberal arts” or “liberal learning,” the word “liberal” comes from the Latin word for “freedom.” But is this true? Are the liberal arts liberating? And if so, how? That’s the question I explore with Dr. Brad East, a theology professor at Abilene Christian University and a member of the Liberating Arts Project. We talk about the “utilitarian” and “activist” temptations on the Right and the Left, what it means to say that Shakespeare belongs to all of us, and what the liberal arts might liberate us from, and what they might liberate us for.
Learn more the Liberati ..read more
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
Six years ago, Ross Douthat had it all together: a growing family, a great job at the New York Times, and a beautiful house in the Connecticut countryside.
Then he fell mysteriously ill, sometimes struggling even to get through a day without horrific pain. What happened? How did he go on? Where was God in all of this?
In this Living The Quest podcast conversation, Dr. Shannon Valenzuela, writer and director of The Quest, speaks with Ross about his experience, his faith, and how his years-long illness brought him through unknown, difficult, deep places.
Learn more about The Quest: https://qu ..read more
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
Many people instinctively think of medieval ways of thinking as old, dusty, and out of date. But what if some of those ideas are anything but: not the opposite of modern, but hyper-modern: post-modern, even? That’s one of the ideas explored in a new book: The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis. Today’s guest is the book’s author: Dr. Jason Baxter, a UD alumnus and Associate Professor of Fine Arts and Humanities at Wyoming Catholic College. We discuss the book, which you can learn more about below, as well as particle physics, astronomy, Dante, and much more.
Read the book: https://www.ivpress ..read more
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
Immaculée Ilibagiza hid for 91 days with seven other women in a small bathroom during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when most of her family members were killed. How does someone who lived through such a horrible time continue to live, to forgive, and even to love?
In this conversation, Dr. Shannon Valenzuela, writer and director of The Quest, speaks with Immaculée about her experience, her faith, and how she found her way to forgiveness by praying the Our Father.
Watch the video version of this interview: https://quest.udallas.edu/living/immaculee
Learn more about The Quest: https://quest.udal ..read more
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
Truth or tribe: which is more important? Should our loyalty be to the truth, or to our people? Philip Harold thinks that the right answer is both – truth and tribe – and he explains why in today’s conversation. Dr. Harold, the Dean of Constantin College of Liberal Arts at the University of Dallas, also explains why people, and not worldviews, clash with each other, and why if we really want to have free and open discussions with each other, we need to start by being loyal to each other.
********************
Free video series, “The Quest”: quest.udallas.edu/
Liberal Learning for Life @ Univer ..read more
Liberal Learning for Life @ UD
1y ago
Today’s conversation is about the allure of unled lives: the lives that you might have had if you had made different decisions in the past. My guest is Andrew Miller, Professor of English at Johns Hopkins University and the author of the recent book On Not Being Someone Else: Tales of Our Unled Lives. We discuss why “unled lives are a middle aged affair,” why the career – rather than the vocation – is the typically modern form of work, and the moral status of daydreaming.
Buy the book: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674238084
********************
Free video series, “The Qu ..read more