Join the Philosophy Department for the annual Justin Martyr Lecture, co-sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Liberty. V. Bradley Lewis is Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America. He specializes in political and legal philosophy, especially in classical Greek political thought and in the theory of natural law. He is currently working on a book project provisionally titled “The Common Good and the Modern State.” He is also a fellow of the Institute for Human Ecology and serves as associate editor of the American Journal of Jurisprudence. The lecture will be at 4 pm in the McAllister Board Room on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Unable to join us? Watch the lecture here on our Benedictine College Lectures channel on YouTube.

Join the Center for Constitutional Liberty as they host New York Times columnist Ross Douthat. Mr. Douthat is an opinion columnist who writes on politics, religion, moral values, and higher education, and has also published several books including The Decadent Society and To Change the Church. He will give “Hard Choices: Christian Politics in a De-Christianizing Society” on February 16th at 5:00pm in the McAllister Boardroom, on the Fourth Floor of the Ferrell Academic Center. This lecture is made possible through the generous support of the Jack Miller Center.

Read the press release about this lecture.

Unable to join us in person? Watch the lecture on our Lectures YouTube channel.

Join the Center for Constitutional Liberty for a lecture by political theorist and Constitutional scholar Michael Zuckert about Abraham Lincoln and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The lecture will be on Tuesday, November 29 at 4:00 pm in Gangel Seminar Room, Third Floor, Ferrell Academic Center. Watch the recording here.

Which comes first, the person or the society? While this paradox isn’t quite as well known as the chicken and the egg, it’s much more critical to consider, especially in times of strife and division. Come hear Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P. consider this question as he presents this year’s annual Justin Martyr Lecture: “The Common Good as the Principle of Friendship.” Fr. Guilbeau is the Prior of the Priory of the Immaculate Conception and a faculty member at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. The lecture will be at 7 pm in the McAllister Board Room in Ferrell Academic Center. Reception to follow. This lecture is sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Liberty, the Justin Martyr Institute, and the Philosophy Department. Watch Fr. Guilbeau’s lecture here.

Is originalism an adequate theory to interpret the Constitution? On Tuesday, April 19, from 4-5:15pm in the McAllister Boardroom, the Center for Constitutional Liberty hosted a lecture that presented an alternative to dominant strains of originalism. Dr. Conor Casey from the University of Liverpool School of Law spoke on how the concept of the common good should affect legal and constitutional interpretation. Prof. Casey’s work has been cited by the Irish Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and High Court.  In the United Kingdom, Prof. Casey has given expert evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee and his work has been cited before the House of Commons Justice Committee. Watch the recording here.

Event sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Liberty. Lecture at 4 pm on Tuesday, September 20 in McAllister Board Room, Fourth Floor, Ferrell Academic Center. Unable to join in person? Watch the lecture here.