COME LEARN WITH US.
In our educational program we seek to explore the resources of the Christian Tradition and draw on critical scholarship in order to understand contemporary cultural change and address shared human questions in ways that enrich and challenge the university community. Our educational initiatives cover a broad range of issues, but we focus on several areas of inquiry that play a crucial role in modern culture.
TECHNOLOGY & THE HUMAN
CREATION CARE & SUSTAINABILITY
CREATIVITY & THE ARTS
SELF & SOCIETY
FAITH & VOCATION
HIGHER EDUCATION & THE UNIVERSITY
In addition to our lectures, classes, reading groups, publications, and podcast, the Study Center hosts Pascal’s Coffeehouse, an expression of Christian hospitality and an embodiment of the Christian understanding we seek to explore as a Study Center.
LECTURES
Spring 2022
Tuesday, February 22nd at 7:30 p.m | CSC Classroom
THERAPEUTIC HUMANITIES FOR A SCIENTIFIC AGE
Professor Chad Wellmon
Join us as we welcome Dr. Chad Wellmon, professor of German studies and history at the University of Virginia for lecture based on his recently published book, Permanent Crisis: The Humanities in a Disenchanted Age (co-authored with Paul Reitter).
For the past two years, we've been debating why we should trust science. At the same time, some, especially in and around the university, have been arguing that we need the humanities now more than ever to help us reason about our politics and values. But why are these two different endeavors? How did questions of moral value and common goods get handed over to the humanities, while questions of trustworthy knowledge given to the sciences? This talk will consider how and why the humanities and the sciences were cordoned off into separate domains with the rise of the modern research university––and the how this late 19th-century division continues to shape our universities and our lives together.
Thursday, March 17th at 7:30 p.m.| CSC Classroom
CURVES AND CATEGORIES: MACHINE LEARNING, A.I., AND THE NATURE OF CLASSIFICATION
Professor Scott Hawley
Machine learning classification techniques are increasingly applied to fields as diverse as biology, astronomy, the humanities, law, medicine, the entertainment industry, criminal justice, library science, aesthetics, robotics, and more, in an effort to automate human decision-making on massive scales. The problematic socio-political ramifications of this enterprise are becoming increasingly evident, and merit a closer examination of the philosophies and methods of classification from their origins in antiquity up to present large-scale A.I. systems. Dr. Scott Hawley is a Professor of Physics at Belmont University, and his research interests include machine learning, neural networks, and the ethics of A.I. Dr. Hawley joins us to explore the fascinating and complex nature of classification and what it reveals about intelligence, human and machine. As the topic concerns human knowledge organization and decision-making in general, this will be an interdisciplinary talk intended to appeal to stakeholders in many fields.
CLASSES
Spring 2022
Wednesdays starting January 26th at 11:45 a.m.| CSC Classroom
DANIEL AND THE POLITICS OF EXILE
Director's Class — Michael Sacasas
The stories about the prophet Daniel and his companions are among the most well-known stories in the Bible. We may be tempted, however, to think of them chiefly as inspiring and entertaining stories for children. In fact, these stories are about exile, identity, state power, political intrigue, and hope. They help readers imagine what it means to be faithful in an often hostile and dehumanizing cultural environment.
Throughout this class, we will carefully consider the first seven chapters of the book of Daniel and the wisdom it holds for those of us who are seeking to faithfully navigate our own often turbulent cultural waters.
Lunch provided.
READING GROUPS
Fall 2021
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Beginning Wednesday, January 26th at 7:30 a.m.
READING HANNAH ARENDT
Michael Sacasas | CSC Classroom
The German-American political theorist, Hannah Arendt is widely regarded as one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. She is best remembered for The Origins of Totalitarianism, Eichmann in Jerusalem, and The Human Condition.
This semester, associate director Mike Sacasas will be leading a reading group which will work through her collection of essays, Between Past and Future.
The group will meet on January 26th, February 9th and 23rd, and March 16th and 30th at 7:30 a.m. Coffee provided!
Beginning Friday, February 4th at noon
PASCAL AND HIS HEIRS
Richard Horner | CSC Classroom
Building on his lecture during our open house even, Dr. Horner will explore the work of a series of thinkers—Flannery O’Connor, Leszek Kolakowski, and Merold Westphal—who were thoughtful readers of Pascal and who have worked in his lineage helping us to think more clearly about modernity and about how to live well in our late-modern context.
The group is open to the public and will meet on the following Fridays at noon, beginning February 4th and continuing on February 18th, March 4th, March 25th, and April 8th.
You can download a copy of the syllabus with reading schedule here.
Copies of the Pensees are available for sale at the Pascal's counter!
Beginning Monday, January 31st at 8:00 p.m.
READINGS IN THE CHURCH FATHERS
Michael Sacasas | Virtual group hosted on Zoom
This group, continuing from last semester, will be reading selections from the writings of the early church fathers on a variety of theological topics. It will meet for the first time Monday, January 31st, at 8:00 p.m. Subsequent meetings will be held on February 15th and 28th and March 21st. Readings will be made available to participants via email as PDFs.
This group is open to the public, both near and far! For more information about this group and to receive the readings and zoom links, please contact Mike Sacasas at mike@christianstudycenter.org.
PODCAST
A NEWSLETTER OF THE
CHRISTIAN STUDY CENTER
Staff
If you've not done so already, take a moment and subscribe to our newsletter here. You can peruse past installments here. We use the newsletter to periodically publish a short essay from study center staff as well as recommended readings and resources. We also use the newsletter feed to post program content. Please note that this newsletter is distinct from the CSC mailing list through which regular program updates are sent.
The Newsletter is also available via Podcast on the following podcast listening apps:
GRADUATE ROUNDTABLE
Spring 2021
TBD
GRADUATE ROUNDTABLE
Brent Henderson | Henderson's home
A reading group for graduate students led by Brent Henderson, Associate Professor of Linguistics at UF. The group is hosted by the Hendersons at their home and gathers around food and conversation.
This semester, the group will be discussing John Inazu's Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving through Deep Differences.
Please email the Study Center for details.