Past Events Archive

The Fordham Reads Dante 10th Anniversary Celebration
HELL HAS AN EXIT: Reading Dante Behind Bars
A musical and theatrical performance featuring Debra Taylor and BL Shirelle
Introduced by Ron Jenkins
Thursday, April 30, 2026 | 5:30 PM

Did Dorothy Day Fail the Black Freedom Movement?
Presented by David Evans, Ph.D
Monday, April 20, 2026 | 5:00 PM

Winner of the 6th Annual New Scholar Essay Prize for Catholic Studies in the Americas: Disability, Vocation, and Catholicism
Presented by Brittany Acors, Ph.D.
Tuesday, March 3, 2026  | 6:00 PM

Liberating Spiritualities: Reimagining Faith in the Américas
Presented by Christopher D. Tirres, Ph.D. 
Wednesday, November 19, 2025  | 5:30 PM

"Poetry of Witness" An Evening with Ukrainian Poet Anna Malihon
Monday, November 3, 2025  | 5:30 PM

Pioneer of Catholic LGBTQ Ministry: The Legacy of John McNeill
Film Screening of Taking a Chance on God
Monday, October 6, 2025  |  6:00 PM

Dante’s Divine Comedy, from Gregorian Chant to Pop Songs
Presented by Francesco Ciabattoni, Ph.D.
Monday, September 29, 2025  | 5:30 PM

21st Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture on Women and U.S. Catholicism
Martyrs for Mother Earth? The Promises and Pitfalls of Maternal Metaphors for Our Common Home
Presented by Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo, Ph.D.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025  | 6 PM

Flannery Abroad: A Conference in Celebration of Flannery O'Connor's Centenary
Fordham University London Campus
June 5-7th, 2025

The Berrigans: Devout & Dangerous
Screening of a new documentary about Phil & Dan Berrigan followed by a conversation with the filmmaker Richard Dresser.
Tuesday, April 15th, 2025 | 6:30 PM

Religious? Secular? How Bad Bunny's Nueva Religión Cracks the Paradigm
Presented by Stephen G. Adubato 
Thursday, April 10th, 2025 | 5:30 PM

Catholic Fundamentalism in America
Presented by Mark Massa, S.J.
Tuesday, April 1st, 2025 | 5:30 PM

Flannery O'Connor @ 100 Takes the Stage: A Film, Conversation & Celebration
Presented by Mark L. Chapman, Angela Alaimo O'Donnell, Ph.D., Karin Coonrod, Carlton Terrence Taylor, and KenYatta Rogers 
Tuesday, March 25th, 2025 | 6:30 PM

Augustine, Race, and Slavery: What Comes Next?
Presented by Toni Alimi, Ph.D. and Matt Elia, Ph.D. 
Thursday, February 27th, 2025 | 5:30 PM

Burn/T Out: Conflict & Forced Displacement During the Northern Ireland “Troubles”
Presented by Brendan C. Browne, Ph.D. and Casey A. Jackson
Thursday, December 5th, 2024 | 5:30 PM

The University As A Critical Conscience: The Legacy of El Salvador’s UCA Martyrs
Presented by O. Ernesto Valiente and panel by Jeanne Hill-Fletcher and Michael Lee
Monday, November 18th, 2024 | 12:30 PM

Undocumenting Abuse: Migration, Power, and the Production of Invisible Victims 
Presented by Susan B . Reynolds, Ph.D. 
Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 | 6 PM

2024 Fordham Reads Dante Opening Lecture: The Drama of Dante
Presented by Ric Burns and Riccardo Bruscagli
Monday, September 30th, 2024 | 5:30 PM

The 20th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture on Women and U.S. Catholicism
Presented by Phyllis Zagano, Ph.D. 
Tuesday, September 17th, 2024 | 6 PM

Dion: The Bronx's "Wanderer" Returns
A conversation and performance by Dion DiMucci
Monday, April 22nd, 2024 | 5:30 pm. EST

Yellow Roses: A Book Launch and Celebration of the Life & Work of Elizabeth Cullinan
A reading and panel discussion featuring Peter Quinn, Mary Gordon, Kerri Walsh, and Angela Alaimo O'Donnell
Tuesday, April 9th, 2024 | 5:30 pm. EST

[VIRTUAL] The Fordham Reads Dante Series: Inferno Canto 30
Presented by Eugenio Refini 
Readers: Susanna Barsella  and Angela Alaimo O'Donnell 
Monday, March 18th, 2023 | 1-2:15 p.m. EST

The Search for God in Hip-Hop
By Alex Nava (University of Arizona)
Tuesday, March 12th, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. EST

[VIRTUAL] The Fordham Reads Dante Series: Inferno Canto 27
Presented by Giorgio Pini 
Readers: Susanna Barsella and Angela Alaimo O'Donnell 
Monday, November 20th, 2023 | 1-2:15 p.m. EST

Paradoxical Reformations in Latin America: Catholics, Evangelicals, and the Crisis of Democracy 
By Raúl E. Zegarra, Ph.D.
Monday, November 13th, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. EST

The Enduring Legacy of UCA MartyrsBy Josè María Tojeria, S.J. 
Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. EST

[Co-Sponsored Event] GLOBAL AESTHETICS OF THE CATHOLIC IMAGINATION CONFERENCE
Keynote Address: Christian Wiman
Friday-Saturday, October 27th-28th, 2023
Beane Hall | Water Tower Campus | Loyola University Chicago

[Co-Sponsored Event] The Art of Encounter: Catholic Writers from the Margins
Featuring Angela Alaimo O'Donnell, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Alice McDermott, R/B Mertz, Kim Garcia, Allison Adair
Friday-Saturday, October 20th-21st, 2023
Boston College

The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church
Presented by Rachel L. Swarns
Thursday, October 12th, 2023 | 5:30 PM EST 

19th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture on Women and U.S. Catholicism
Presented by Nancy Pineda-Madrid, Ph.D, Loyola Marymount University
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023 | 6 PM EST 

The 2023 Fordham Reads Dante Lecture, Dante Behind Bars: “Not Made to Live Like Brutes”
By Ron Jenkins
Tuesday, September 19, 2023 | 5:30 PM EST

The Bronx? Yes, Thonx: Notes of a Native Son
By Peter Quinn | A novelist, political historian and chronicler of NYC
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 | 5:30 PM EST 

"Ideas are Debated; Reality is Discerned": Pope Francis and Ignatian Discernment
By Matthew Ashley, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame
Thursday, March 30, 2023 | 5:30 PM EST 

Allowing Their Testimony: The Struggle for Six U.S. Black Catholic Saints
By Ralph E. Moore, Jr., Delores Moore, & Fr. Maurice Nutt, CSSR
Thursday, February 9, 2023 | 7:00 PM EST 

Thomas Merton and "M": What Merton's Affair with a Nurse Taught Him About Love and Humanity 
By Gregory K. Hillis, Ph.D., Bellarmine University
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 | 5:30 PM EST  

Fordham Reads Dante, Inferno 23
By Leonardo Chiarantini, University of Michigan
Monday, November 28, 2022 | 5:30 PM EST

Who Counts as Catholic? Central American Proxy Wars and the Battle for Catholic Identity
By Theresa Keeley, University of Louisville
Monday, November 14, 2022 | 5:30 PM EST

18th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture On Women and U.S. Catholicism
By Maureen H. O'Connell, La Salle University
Tuesday, October 25, 2022 | 6:00 PM EST

"VOCAL: Why Voice is so Important to Clergy Abuse Survivors"
By Brian Clites, Case Western Reserve University
Thursday, September 29, 2022 | 1:00 PM EST 

2022 Fordham Reads Dante Lecture: "Dante, a Sculptor's Journey"
By Timothy Paul Schmalz
Monday, September 12, 2022 | 5:30 PM EST

"VOCAL: Why Voice is so Important to Clergy Abuse Survivors"
By Brian Clites, Case Western Reserve University
Thursday, September 29, 2022 | 1:00 PM EST 

18th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture On Women and U.S. Catholicism
By Maureen H. O'Connell, La Salle University
Tuesday, October 25, 2022 | 6:00 PM EST 

Who Counts as Catholic? Central American Proxy Wars and the Battle for Catholic Identity
By Theresa Keeley, University of Louisville
Monday, November 14, 2022 | 5:30 PM EST

The Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies Celebration, Honoring Mark S. Massa, S.J.
Thursday, June 2, 2022 l Fordham University l Rose Hill Campus 

What Rhymes with Ireland? Poetry, Peace and Troublemaking
By Pádraig Ó Tuama
Wednesday, November 17th, 2021 | 6PM EST 

The 17th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture on Women and U.S. Catholicism
Presented by Mary Dunn, Ph.D., University of St. Louis
Tuesday, October 5, 2021 | 6PM EST 

Unearthing Buried Narratives: Reconstructing the Experiences of Enslaved People Through Jesuit Records
Presented by Kelly M. Schmidt, Ph.D.
Thursday, September 23, 2021 | 5:30PM EST 

Fordham Reads Dante Lecture: What's a Dante Theme Park?
By Randy Boyagoda., University of Toronto
Monday, September 20, 2021 | 5:30PM EST

The Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholc Studies cordially invites you to Congregate and Celebrate
Please Join us for a virtual Mass followed by a "sherry hour" with Mark S. Massa, S.J., and Michael Lee, Ph.D., director of the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies
Thursday, June 3, 2021 | 5 PM EST 

"Revelation" & Race in Flannery O'Connor: A Radio Play & Contextual Conversation Via Zoom
Created by Karin Coonrod and performed by Compagnia de' Colombari
Thursday, April 29, 2021 | 6PM EST 

Asian American Communities and the Clerical Abuse Crisis
In Partnership with the Theology Department

Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States
A conversation with Massimo Faggioli
Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | 12:00PM-1:00PM EST 

Black Communities and the Clerical Abuse Crisis
In Partnership with the Theology Department
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 | 12:00PM-1:00PM EST 

Faithful Service: Reflections on Religion in Public Life
Rep. Juan Vargas in conversation with Prof. Michael Peppard and Fordham Students
Thursday, April 1, 2021 | 1:00PM-2:00PM EST

Liturgical Protest from Ft. Benning to Ferguson
Presented by Kyle Lambelet, Emory University
Thursday, March 31, 2021 | 12:00PM-1:00PM EST

Priesthood Using and Losing Power: Neil Connolly's in the Puerto Rican Migration
Presented by Angel Garcia, South Bronx People for Change
Thursday, March 11, 2021 | 7:00PM EST

Native American Communities and the Clerical Abuse Crisis
In Partnership with the Theology Department
Thursday, February 25, 2021 | 12:00PM-1:00PM EST 

Latinx Communities and the Clerical Abuse Crisis
In Partnership with the Theology Department
Thursday, January 28, 2021 | 12:00PM-1:00PM EST

The Four Martyres Churchwomen: Allies In Today's Struggle for Social Justice
A presentation by Edward T. Brett, Ph.D., and Donna Whitson Brett, M.A.
December 2, 2020

In the Shadow of the Cross: Black Women and the Making of U.S. Catholicism
The 16th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture, presented by Dr. Shannen Dee Williams (Villanova University)
October 20, 2020

Pope Francis’s new call for a radical re-ordering of society’s priorities
A Fordham Center on Religion and Culture Webinar
In collaboration with Fordham’s Curran Center for American Catholic Studies
Wednesday, October 7, 2020 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM EST

March 3, 2020
The Sexual Dynamics of Modern Catholicism
Presented by Robert Orsi (Northwestern University)

February 4, 2020
Jazz Is Love: The Life & Music of Mary Lou Wiliams
A life performance and talk presented by Deanna Witkowski

November 5, 2019
Cuéntame: How Women's Storytelling Shapes the Future of the Church
The 15th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture presented by Natalia Imperatori-Lee, Professor of Religious Studies, Manhattan College

October 25, 2019
Prophetic Fire: The Power of Hip-Hop, Media, and Faith
Presented by Jesuit scholastic and Fordham alum Michael Martinez '13

September 28, 2019
"Everything that Rises Must Converge":  Race & Grace in Flannery O'Connor
Featuring an academic panel discussion and performance of O'Connor's short story by Compagnia de' Colombari

September 16, 2019
Dante's Tightrope: A Lecture & Reading by Micheal O'Siadhail
The Fordham Reads Dante Opening Lecture

April 1, 2019
The Structure of Theological Revolutions: How the Fight over Birth Control Transformed American Catholicism
A Presentation and Book Discussion with Curran Center Founding Director Mark Massa (Boston College)

March 14, 2019
Practicing Justice, Building Communion: American Catholicism's Moral Imperative to Embrace its Hispanic/Latino Identity
Hosffman Ospino, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry

October 29, 2018
What Happened? Why? What Now? Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church
Featuring panelists Celia Fisher, David Gibson, Cathleen Kaveny, and Bryan Massingale

October 18, 2018
Flannery Uncut: A Sneak Peek at a New Flannery O'Connor Film and Conversation with Fr. James Martin

October 9, 2018
14th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture
An Atlas of Another and Difficult World: Gender, Race, and the Church
M. Shawn Copeland, Boston College

September 24, 2018
Dulles at 100: Celebrating the Work and Legacy of Avery Cardinal Dulles

May 9, 2018
Saint Cicero: Renaissance Foundations of Jesuit Pedagogy
Robert A. Maryks, Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, Boston College

February 15, 2018
What Unites Us? A Conversation with Dan Rather about Values, Citizenship, and Religion in America
Moderated by Profs. Michael Peppard and Monika McDermott

January 19, 2018
Ecclesia of Women in Asia Video-Conference
Hosted in collaboration with Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church

November 14, 2017
13th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture
Feminist Theology in a Divided World: Walls and Paths to Global Solidarity
María Pilar Aquino, University of San Diego

October 20, 2017
Lifetime Achievement Award: Marie Ponsot, and a Celebration of Women's Poetry
Hosted with the Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline

September 19, 2017
Reading Blake's Dante
Joseph Viscomi, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

April 27-29, 2017
The Future of the Catholic Literary Imagination Conference
Featuring plenary speakers Dana Gioia, Ron Hansen, Alice McDermott, Mary Gordon, Micheal O'Siadhail, Philip Metres, Fr. James Martin, and Angela Alaimo O'Donnell

April 1, 2017
Slavery on the Cross: Catholics and the 'Peculiar Institution,' Praxis and Practice
Keynote speaker John Cummings, owner and founder of Whitney Plantation Museum
Other panelists: Thomas Murphy, Bryan Massingale, M. Shawn Copeland, James O'Toole, Albert Holtz, Maurice Nott, Gregory Chisholm, and Jeannine Hill Fletcher

March 28, 2017
Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty
Kate Hennessy, granddaughter of Dorothy Day

March 21, 2017
Grammars in Conflict: The Option for the Poor and the Cultural Languages of the U.S.
MT Dávila, Andover Newton Theological School

February 7, 2017
The Long Loneliness in Baltimore: Stories of Viva House and a Half Century of Life with the Catholic Worker
Brendan Walsh and Willa Bickham

November 9, 2016
"Eat this Scroll": Assessing the Impact of Dei Verbum on its 50th Anniversary
Ronald Witherup, Society of Saint Sulpice

October 4, 2016
13th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture
Reading the Scriptures with the Mind, Eyes, and Heart of a Woman
Barbara E. Reid, OP

September 19, 2016
Laughing All the Way to the Mosque: Finding Holiness in Humor
Zarqa Nawaz

April 27-29, 2016
Building Good Economies: An Interdisciplinary Conference Celebrating Catholic Social Teaching at 125
Featuring plenary speakers Juliet Schor, Hernando de Soto Polar, Charles Curran, Luigi Zingales, Jere Behrman, and Jody Heymann

February 22, 2016
Beyond 'Authentically Black and Truly Catholic': Black Catholic Identity for a New Time
Bryan Massingale, Marquette University

November 9, 2015
Poetry Reading: An Evening with Irish Poet, Micheal O'Siadhail

October 14, 2015
11th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture
Madonnas, Millenials, and the Global South: Women and Cultural Conflicts in U.S. Catholicism
Mary Ellen Konieczny, University of Notre Dame

September 16, 2015
Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax
Book launch featuring author Michael N. McGregor

Monday, March 3, 2014 | 6 p.m.
Tognino Hall, Duane Library
Building Better Economies: Why Popes and Economists Need to Talk
Daniel K. Finn, Inaugural Visiting Chair in American Catholic Studies

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 | 7 p.m.
Pope Auditorium, Lincoln Center Campus
The Big Apple From Skin to Core: The Poetic Imagination and NYC
Co-Sponsored by the Crossroads Initiative

Monday, Nov. 4, 2013 | 6 p.m.
CALLING: How We Become the Ones We Are
Thomas Lynch, Poet and Essayist

Monday, Oct. 28, 2013 | 6:30 p.m.
"So Much is in Bud": Catholic Women's Contributions to an Emerging Ecological Theology
Elizabeth A. Johnson, CSJ, Fordham University

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013 | 6:30 p.m.
Shakespeare, Tyrannicide, and the Papal Deposing Power
Lecture by Arthur Marotti, Distinguished Professor, Wayne State University

Sunday, April 14, 2013 | 2 p.m.
The Making of a Black Catholic Saint: Henriette DeLille and the Subversive Power of Love": Inaugural Biennial Lecture celebrating Black Catholics in the United States
M. Shawn Copeland, Boston College

Wednesday, April 3, 2013 | 6 p.m.
A Question of Habit: Images of Catholic Nuns and Sisters in U.S. Popular Culture
Bren Ortega Murphy, Loyola University Chicago

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 | 6 p.m.
Family Pain, Family Grace, and the Tender Quest to Tell Our Stories Truly: Notes from an Irish Catholic Memoir
James T. Fisher, Fordham University

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 | 7 p.m.
On Pilgrimage: Ancient Religious Practice Meets Contemporary Spiritual Journey Along El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Film Screening and Discussion of The Way

Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 2013 | 6 p.m.
How Can Christianity Touch the Imagination of our Contemporaries?
Timothy Radcliffe, OP, Guest Lecturer and Former Head of the Dominican Order

Monday, February 11, 2013, 2013 | 6 p.m.
An Evening with Alice McDermott
A Reading and Conversation with Catholic Novelist Alice McDermott

Thursday, November 15, 2012 | 5 p.m.
Telling the Irish-American Tale
A Conversation with Pierce Butler and Peter Quinn

Thursday, November 8, 2012 | 6 p.m.
First Lecture in Our Series on Virtue and Vice:
Modesty Matters: An Ancient Virtue's Lessons for Ecology and Society
Laura Hartman, Augustana College

8th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture:
A Family Affair: Catholic Women and the Birth Control Question
Leslie Woodcock Tentler, Catholic University of America

Monday, September 17, 2012 | 4:30 p.m.
Voting, Religious Liberty, and the Common Good
M. Kathleen Kaveny, University of Notre Dame
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 | 6 p.m.

Friday, September 14, 2012 | 7 p.m.
The Cardinal and Colbert: Humor, Joy, and the Spiritual Life
Timothy Cardinal Dolan and Stephen Colbert, moderated by Rev. James Martin, SJ

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 | 6 p.m.
A Reading and Lecture by Dana Gioia
Dana Gioia, Poet and Educator

Monday, April 23, 2012 | 4 p.m.
A Voice of One's Own: A Roundtable Discussion of Women's Poetry with Fordham Faculty Poets

Monday, April 16, 2012 | 4 - 6 p.m.
Letting Us Pray: A Symposium on Language in the Liturgy
Julie Upton, St. John's University, Keynote Speaker

Thursday, March 29, 2012 | 4 - 5:30 p.m.
Economic Realism vs. Catholic Idealism
Panel Discussion with Christine Firer Hinze, Curran Center for American Catholic Studies, and Henry Schwalbenberg, Fordham University

Still Alive at 60: A Symposium and a Celebration of Flannery O'Connor's WISE BLOOD
Moderated by Angela Alaimo O'Donnell, Curran Center for American Catholic Studies

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 | 5 p.m.
The End of Catholic Politics?
Lecture and Discussion with David Gibson, Journalist with Religion News Service and author of The Rule of Benedict
Saturday, March 24, 2012 | 2 - 6 p.m.

Thursday, November 10, 2011 | 6 p.m.
Spirit in the Art(s): Religion and the Black Cultural Imagination, from the Harlem Renaissance to Hip Hop
Josef Sorett, Columbia University

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 6 p.m.
7th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture:
With Understanding Start Again: O God of Players 10 Years Later
Julie E. Byrne, Hofstra University

Monday, November 7, 2011 | 6:30 p.m.
Ecclesia of Women in Asia
Skype Discussion of Asian Women's Conference

Friday, September 16, 2011, 6 p.m.
Learning to Listen: Voices of Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church
Panel Discussion

January 28-30, 2011
LOST? Twenty-Somethings and the Church
A national conference exploring the relationship of 20-somethings to the contemporary Church.