Gonzaga Campus Abuzz with Rich Learning Opportunities

SPOKANE, Wash. — As excitement builds for Gonzaga men’s and women’s basketball teams in the fast-approaching March Madness, campus is abuzz with a cornucopia of rich academic opportunities available this semester to students and the public on a wide array of topics.

Guest speakers at Gonzaga so far this month have included: Patrick Deneen, professor of political science at University of Notre Dame, who discussed (Feb. 20) his book “Why Liberalism Failed” — one of the most acclaimed political analysis books of 2018. Mike Petersen, executive director of the Lands Council, who addressed environmentalism (Feb. 19); Ken Dye, music professor at University of Notre Dame presented “Marching to Motown,” for Black History Month (Feb. 5); Karma Chávez, associate professor of Mexican American and Latina/o studies at University of Texas at Austin, presented “El SIDA Nos Afecta a Todos: AIDS Activism in and for Latinx Immigrant Communities in the Early Years of HIV/AIDS” (Feb. 11).

Upcoming in February

• Kathleen Jeffs, Gonzaga associate professor of theatre and dance, addresses her experience in the royal Shakespeare Company on Feb. 21.
• Fr. Tom Lamanna, S.J., will discuss the response of the former Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus and the current U.S. Jesuits West Province to allegations of sexual abuse in a Q & A with the Rector of the Della Strada Jesuit Community Feb. 22. 
• On Feb. 23, Gonzaga will collaborate with the Catholic Medical Association to present a “Conference on Pornography: The New Drug” in which leading professionals nationwide will the explore the effects of pornography on the biology of the brain, relationships, and human trafficking.
• Kimberlé Crenshaw, renowned scholar in race and the law, feminist legal theory, and critical race theory, will discuss her new book “On Intersectionality: Essential Writings” on Feb. 28. Crenshaw is best known for having coined the concept of intersectionality to describe instances where people experience simultaneous prejudices based on race, gender, and other identities.

A Few March Highlights

The multitude of scholarly offerings continues in March:

• On March 6, a group of lay leaders among Gonzaga faculty, staff and students will lead a liturgy giving voice to the laments of the people of God, acknowledging the sins of the Church in the abuse of minors and its cover-up, and seeking to stand with victims in a Liturgy of Lament.
• Georgia Institute of Technology’s Jean-Luc Brédas, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will discuss “The Power of Pi” for the O’Leary Lecture on March 19. Brédas’ research interests focus on the computational characterization and design of novel organic materials for organic electronics and photonics.
• Don Kardong will discuss how Spokane’s Bloomsday grew from a modest idea to become the largest timed run in the country in the School of Business Administration’s Pigott Entrepreneurship Lecture on March 20.
• Timothy Egan (pictured at left), author, journalist and op-ed columnist for The New York Times, will discuss “Toward a Shared National Narrative” on March 25 for the William L. Davis, S.J. Lecture. In 2001, The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series to which Egan contributed, “How Race is Lived in America.”
• Marie-Christine Nizzi’s — whose research focuses on resilience and the sense of self — will explore “Becoming Human” March 26 for the Arnold Distinguished Professorship Lecture. Nizzi holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the Sorbonne and recently defended her Ph.D. dissertation in psychology at Harvard.
• On March 29, Fr. Eric Watson, S.J., associate professor of chemistry at Seattle University, will discuss “The Faith of a Jesuit Chemist: Reflections on the Relationship between Religion and Science.”

 View all of the events scheduled at Gonzaga at www.gonzaga.edu/news-events/events.