Visiting Lectures

Each semester, the college invites scholars, poets, priests, philosophers, artists, musicians, and cultural leaders to join the conversation that animates our collegiate culture. These visits usually take the form of an informal dinner with the guest, faculty, and students, followed by a lecture or seminar, complemented by questions and answers, further conversation, and much-anticipated desserts created by our student chefs.

The following list offers a selection of the speakers, seminars, and their topics:

Lecture/Seminar	Speaker	Affiliation
The Boethius Option	Anthony Esolen	Professor (Literature and Humanities), Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
The Curse and the Gift of Tragedy	Bainard Cowan	Professor of Literature, Cowan Chair in Humanities, University of Dallas
Why the Christian Religion Is not the Religion of Humanity	Daniel J. Mahoney	Augustine Chair of Distinguished Studies, Professor of Politics, Assumption College
Medieval Art in American Museums: Histories of Collecting and Display	Meredith Fluke	Director, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, College of the Holy Cross
Capitalism and the Good Life	Danilo Petranovich	Director, Abigail Adams Institute
Shakespeare’s Classical Education	Leah Whittington	John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities Department of English Harvard University
What the Wise Know & How They Know It: Wisdom Among the Speculative Virtues in Aquinas	Daniel Gallagher	Associate Professor of Latin, Cornell University
The Urgency of Liberal Education	Mary Mumbach	Professor (Literature and Humanities), Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
The Crito: The Last Temptation of Socrates	Nalin Ranasinghe	Professor of Philosophy, Assumption College
What Is the Zeitgeist Trying to Tell Us?	Peter Sampo	President Emeritus, Tutor (Humanities and Political Science), Magdalen College
Plutarch’s Philosopher King – Numa and the Sovereignty of Music	Tom Larson	Associate Professor of Philosophy, St. Anselm College
The Poem Knows: Writing in Form and Meter	Midge Goldberg	New Hampshire Poet
What They Saw in America: The Sacred and the Secular	James Nolan	Professor of Sociology, Williams College
“God or Nature”: On the Use of Benedict Spinoza by Christians	Eric Buck	Professor, Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
Grace to Those Who Hear: The Light of Christian Speech in a Darkening World	Lee Cerling	Associate Professor of Clinical Business Communication, University of Southern California
The Church and Galileo	Mark Attorri	Devine, Millimet & Branch Law Firm (NH)
A Philosophical Archaeology of Iliad 2.1-277: How Plato and Aristotle Proof-Text Homer	Jeffrey Wilson	Professor of Philosophy, Catholic University of America
Dante, Francis, and the Popes	Professor Ronald Herzman	Distinguished Teaching Professor of English, State University of New York College at Geneseo
Spring Recital: Piano, Voice & Violin	Emily Swope	Assistant Music Director, Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
Naturalistic Realism	Francis Fallon	Assistant Professor of Philosophy, St. John’s University, Queens, NY
Institutional Corruption and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy	William English	Research Associate, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
Application of Catholic Social Teaching: A Guide for Decision Making in Times of Crisis	Henry J. Amoroso, J.D.	Member of the Firm Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC
St. Thomas Aquinas on Creation and the Eternity of the World	Stephen Brown	Professor of Theology, Boston College
Voice Recital – “Sacred Songs Throughout the Ages”	Emily Swope	Assistant Music Director, Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
Platonic Afterlife Myths as Liberating Education	Joseph Forte	Professor (Philosophy and Humanities), Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
The Vocation of the Catholic Scholar	Fr. Michael Sweeney, O.P.	Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, CA
A Storyteller’s Inspirations	Mary Pope Osborne	Author
“The Lord Jesus Who Loved Me and Gave Himself for Me”: Salvation in Christ	Fr. Robert Imbelli	Professor Emeritus of Theology, Boston College
Making Sense of Latin Verb Forms	Tim Pulju	Senior Lecturer in Classics and Linguistics, Dartmouth College
Sing, O Tongue, the Mystery: Hymns, Theology, and Liturgy in Catholic Life	Ambrose Dobrozsi ‘12	Seminarian, Mount St. Mary’s of the West, Cincinnati, OH
Drama and Persuasion: Approaching Acadamia with your Great Books Education	Allanah Karas ’07	Classics Ph.D. Candidate, City University, New York, NY
Journey to Jerusalem: Theo-Drama of Holy Week	Mark Gillis ’90	Headmaster, Holy Family Academy

Alumna Co-Authors Screenplay for Major Fátima Film

Magdalen College is proud to announce that Dr. Barbara Nicolosi Harrington, ‘94, has co-written the screenplay for Fátima, a film to be released nationwide on 1000 screens. The film features Harvey Keitel and Sonia Braga as part of an international cast. The college will be scheduling a screening of the film for the fall of...

Friday Night Lecture, February 7th: “The Boethius Option” by Anthony Esolen

Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts Friday Night Lecture Series February 7, 7:30p.m. “The Boethius Option” Dr. Anthony Esolen Professor and Writer-in-Residence at Magdalen College On February 7, Anthony Esolen will present a lecture as part of the college’s Friday Night Lecture Series. The lecture will take place at 7:30pm at Magdalen College in the...

Friday Night Lecture: The Curse and the Gift of Tragedy

Dr. Bainard Cowan, professor of literature and Cowan Chair in Humanities at the University of Dallas, presented this academic year’s inaugural Friday Night Lecture, “The Curse and the Gift of Tragedy,” on Friday, September 13. In his presentation, Dr. Cowan discussed the core elements of tragedy, drawing on Aristotle’s discussion in The Poetics, and then...

Fr. Brian Dunkle of Boston College speaks at Northeast Catholic College

Friday Night Lecture: The Eyes of Faith in Early Christian Literature

On Friday, February 8, the college hosted Fr. Brian Dunkle, S.J., as part of its Friday Night Lecture series. Fr. Dunkle, who is the Assistant Professor of Historical Theology in the School of Ministry and Theology at Boston College, lectured on “The Eyes of Faith in Early Christian Literature.” Drawing on the writings of the Church Fathers,...

Friday Night Lecture: “The Poem Knows: Writing in Form and Meter”

Friday, November 9, 2018 7:30p.m., St. Francis de Sales Midge Goldberg 2016 Howard Nemerov Award 2016 Readers Choice Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry in NH 2015 Richard Wilbur Poetry Award “The Poem Knows: Writing in Form and Meter” Join us in welcoming poet Midge Goldberg as our upcoming Friday Night Lecture guest. Midge Goldberg...

Friday Night Lecture Series: “What Do the Wise Know & How Do They Know It?:Wisdom Among the Speculative Virtues in Aquinas”

Friday, October 19, 2018, 8:00p.m., St. Francis de Sales Prof. Daniel Gallagher Associate Professor of the Practice in Latin at Cornell University Presents “What Do the Wise Know & How do They Know It?: Wisdom Among the Speculative Virtues in Aquinas” Join us in welcoming Professor Daniel B. Gallagher as our upcoming Friday Night Lecture...

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