Visitors who want a break from tailgating on football weekends have a variety of options for public lectures and talks around campus this fall. From science to the humanities to faith, these events will explore a range of topics of interest to the University of Notre Dame community.
On Fridays, the Notre Dame Alumni Association will host the hour-long “On The Sidelines,” a lecture series that features faculty sharing their insights about and experiences of Notre Dame and its place in the world. Each talk, geared for a general audience, allows the speakers to share their expertise, followed by a Q&A session. These talks take place at the Eck Visitors Center. For more information, visit the Alumni Association website.
The 15th annual Saturday Scholar Series, sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters, provides a lineup of lectures by leading faculty members on each home football game weekend. The lectures address a variety of issues and offer an opportunity to meet and interact with some of the University’s faculty.
The lectures, which will take place in the Annenberg Auditorium of the Snite Museum of Art, are free and open to the public. Topics include:
- “The Changing American Voter in 2016 and Beyond,” 4 p.m. Sept. 5, with Luis Fraga, Arthur Foundation Endowed Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership, professor in the Department of Political Science and co-director of the Institute for Latino Studies.
- “Sparkle: Contemporary Girls’ Media Culture,” noon Sept. 19, with Mary Celeste Kearney, associate professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre and director of the Gender Studies Program.
- “What’s Posterity Ever Done for Us?: Literature and the Future,” noon Sept. 26, with John Sitter, Mary Lee Duda Professor of Literature, Department of English.
- “Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., Among the Notre Dame Presidents,” noon Oct. 10, with Father Thomas Blantz, C.S.C., professor emeritus of history; Nancy Haegel, center director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado; Father Edward A. “Monk” Malloy, C.S.C., president emeritus; and Timothy Matovina, professor, Department of Theology, and co-director, Institute for Latino Studies.
- “How Our Siblings Shape Us: Evidence from Economics,” 4 p.m. Oct. 17, with Kasey Buckles, Brian and Jeannelle Brady Associate Professor of Economics.
- “1916: Screening the Irish Rebellion,” noon Nov. 14, with Briona Nic Dhiarmada, Thomas J. and Kathleen M. O’Donnell Professor of Irish Studies, Department of Irish Language and Literature, and concurrent professor, Department of Film, Television, and Theatre.
The College of Science will offer its Saturday Science Exploration Series in Room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science before every home football game. Topics include:
- “New Views of the Solar System: The Latest from Pluto and This Year’s Robotic Explorers,” noon Sept. 5 in the Digital Visualization Theater (DVT), with Keith Davis, director of the DVT and concurrent assistant professional specialist in the Department of Physics.
- “Notre Dame and the God Particle,” noon Sept. 19, with Mike Hildreth, professor of physics.
- “Science, Religion and Environmental Change: A Panel Discussion about the Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si’ and the University of Notre Dame,” noon Sept. 26, with David Lodge, director of the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative and Ludmilla F. and Stephen J. Galla Professor of Biological Sciences; Joyce Coffee, managing director of the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index; Viva Bartkus, associate professor of management; Alan Hamlet, assistant professor civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences; and Mary Galvin, William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science, as moderator.
- “Tissue Microenvironment: Friend or Foe for Cancer Metastasis?” noon Oct. 10, with Siyuan Zhang, Nancy Dee Professor of Cancer Research at the Harper Cancer Research Institute.
- “Compassionate Care in Medicine,” 1 p.m. Oct. 17, with Dominic Vachon, director of the Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine.
- “Stem Cells: A Vision for the Ethical Treatment of Disease,” noon Nov. 14, with David Hyde, Rev. Howard J. Kenna, C.S.C., Memorial Director of the Center for Zebrafish Research and director of the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine.
The Institute for Church Life is continuing its annual Saturdays with the Saints series, offering sessions from 10:30-11:30 a.m. each Saturday in the lower level of Geddes Hall. The theme for these talks this semester is “Saints who spoke up and spoke out!” For more information, visit icl.nd.edu.
Visitors are also invited to join the Dr. Tom Dooley Society every football Saturday for the Dooley Society Lectures, which explore different medical topics. Topics include:
- Medical mission stipend awardees’ presentations, 2 p.m. Sept. 5, Room 101, Jordan Hall of Science.
- The Emil T. Hofman lecture: “Rules of Engagement: The Principles of Underserved Global Health Volunteerism,” 11 a.m. Sept. 19, Raclin Carmichael Auditorium, Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend, with John Wilson, associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic.
- “Pain Management,” 11 a.m. Sept. 26, Room 105, Jordan Hall, with Paul Christo, Johns Hopkins Medicine.
- “Lingering Effects of Ebola,” 11 a.m. Oct. 10, Room 105, Jordan Hall, with Fred Angulo, epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- “Bariatric Surgery,” 2:30 p.m. Oct. 17, Room 105, Jordan Hall, with Matt Hubbard, Yale Bariatric Surgery Program.
- “Disabusing Disability,” 11 a.m. Nov. 14, Room 105, Jordan Hall, with Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, Memorial Hospital of South Bend.