Internationally known sociologist and social theorist Hans Joas, director of the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social 91��Ƶ at the University of Erfurt in Germany, will present a lecture titled “The Axial Age Debate As Religious Discourse,” at 4 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 12) in the Andrews Auditorium of Geddes Hall at the University of Notre Dame.

The lecture, which is open to all Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross College faculty, staff and students, is sponsored by the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) and co-sponsored by the Center for Social Concerns.

Since 2000, Joas has served as professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, where he also is a member of the Committee on Social Thought. Formerly a professor of sociology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Joas also previously taught at the Free University of Berlin and served as a visiting professor of sociology at several universities in Europe and the United States, including Duke University, the University of Toronto, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Vienna.

Joas’ work has been translated into English, French, German, Korean, Polish, Russian and Spanish, and his publications in English include: “G.H. Mead. A Contemporary Re-examination of His Thought,” “Social Action and Human Nature,” “Pragmatism and Social Theory,” “The Creativity of Action,” “The Genesis of Values,” “War and Modernity,” “Do We Need Religion? On the Experience of Self-Transcendence,” and “Social Theory.” His most recent book in German is “Kriegsverdraengung,” a history of social theorizing about war from Hobbes to the present.

NDIAS hosts scholars from around the world and supports research that extends beyond the analysis of particular problems to the examination of larger, often ethical, ultimate questions. The institute is one of the five strategic research investments that Notre Dame recently has funded through a multi-million-dollar commitment of internal financial resources.

Contact: Vittorio Hösle, Director, Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study, vhosle@nd.edu

Some of Europe’s most prominent Muslim and Muslim-born writers will discuss the place of Islam in their work at a symposium titled “The Place of Islam in Contemporary European Literature,” to be held Nov. 16 and 17 (Monday and Tuesday) at the University of Notre Dame.

Jointly sponsored by the University’s Nanovic Institute for European 91��Ƶ, Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ and Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, the symposium will feature a keynote address by Azouz Begag, a novelist, scriptwriter, scholar and former delegate minister for equal opportunities in France who has been awarded Chevalier de L’Ordre du Mérite and Chevalier de La Légion d’Honneur.

Conference panelists also include novelists, statesmen, sociologists, poets, filmmakers, translators and editors. Moderated by Notre Dame faculty, panel discussions will focus on the place of Islam in the writing process; the literature of geography, memory and exile; literature and generational identity; and discussions of literature and power.

In addition to lectures and discussions, the symposium also will feature a screening of “Le Grand Voyage” at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 16 in the Eck Visitors’ Center auditorium. Director Ismaël Ferroukhi is scheduled to introduce the award-winning film, which explores a father and son’s relationship as they travel across Europe to Mecca.

All symposium events are free and open to the public. More information and a complete schedule of events are available .

Contact: Anthony Monta, Nanovic Institute, amonta@nd.edu

Vincent Muñoz, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, questions the traditional view of the founding fathers’ stance on religious liberty in “God and the Founders: Madison, Washington, and Jefferson,” recently published by Cambridge University Press.

In the book, Muñoz rejects the consensus view that the founding fathers agreed about the meaning of religious liberty by showing how Presidents James Madison, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson disagreed about the separation of church and state. He explains why the founders’ disagreement means that no single church-state position can claim the exclusive authority of America’s founding history. In doing so, Muñoz reveals how the founders have been misused by Supreme Court justices, demonstrates the limits of “originalism” in church-state jurisprudence, and explains how the founders’ different positions would adjudicate contemporary church-state controversies.

Muñoz writes and teaches in the fields of constitutional law, American politics and political philosophy. His recent research has focused on the theme of religious liberty and the U.S. Constitution.
After earning his undergraduate degree from Claremont McKenna College, Muñoz earned his master’s degree from Boston College and then returned to Claremont for his doctorate.

Contact: Vincent Muñoz, vmunoz@nd.edu

Four University of Notre Dame alumni working in the film industry will return to campus to screen and discuss their work at the annual iNDustry Alliance Alumni Documentary Film Festival, to be held Oct. 1 to 3 (Thursday to Saturday) in the Browning Cinema of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Featured presenters are John Mikulak, a 1990 graduate and the director of “The Man Who Would Be Polka King;” Greg Kohs, a 1988 graduate and the director of “Song Sung Blue;” Jake Rademacher, a 1997 graduate and the director of “Brothers at War;” and Scott Mitsui, a 1992 graduate and the producer and cinematographer of “Jam.” The filmmakers will participate in question and answer sessions after each screening and Mitsui will present a talk on Oct. 2 titled “Making the Perfect Trailer: A Behind the Scenes Look at Movie Marketing.”

The festival is part of the iNDustry Alliance Alumni Filmmaker Series, sponsored by Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, the performing arts center, and Alumni Association. The series brings alumni directors, producers, screenwriters and actors back to campus to screen their recent feature films and documentaries.

Screenings are free, but tickets are required. The festival schedule and ticket information are available on the Web at or by visiting or calling the performing arts center box office at 574-631-2800.

Contact: Ted Mandell, Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, tmandell@nd.edu

The University of Notre Dame will host its eighth annual Catholic Culture Literature Series beginning Tuesday (Sept. 22). The opening lecture, which will focus on poet and playwright T.S. Eliot, will be presented by Dominic Manganiello, professor of English at the University of Ottawa.

Presented by the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, lectures will take place every Tuesday through Oct. 13. Presentations are free and open to the public and will begin at 8 p.m. in Room 155 of DeBartolo Hall on the Notre Dame campus.

Titled “Close to Catholics: A Celebration of Kindred Spirits,” this year’s series is themed around a discussion of four non-Catholic writers whose works share common themes with Catholic theology. Each speaker will discuss the similarities and differences between the professed faith of each author and the Catholic faith and the way these differences shape each author’s work.

Other speakers are Ann Astell, associate professor of theology at Notre Dame, speaking on Simone Weil; Joseph Pearce, biographer of modern Christian literary figures and the author of “C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church,” speaking on Lewis; and Robert Bird, associate professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and associate faculty in the Divinity 91��Ƶ at University of Chicago, speaking on Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The series was created in 2002 to engage the Notre Dame community in an appreciation of literature with a unique Catholic perspective.

More information is available on the Web at .

Contact: Kathryn Wales, program coordinator, Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, kathrynwales@nd.edu

Adam C. Hansmann, a senior finance and economics major from Cincinnati, and Amber R. Lattner, a senior management consulting major from Montrose, Pa., have been named recipients of the 2009 Eugene D. Fanning Scholarship at the University of Notre Dame.

Hansmann and Lattner were selected by the faculty of the Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business for excellence in communication skills and exemplary personal characteristics. Six finalists were selected and the two winners were determined based on faculty interviews.

The scholarships include a credit to each student’s tuition account with the University and a commemorative pewter plate. The award, funded by donations from Notre Dame‘s Business Advisory Council, honors the life and work of Eugene D. Fanning, a Chicago businessman and investor who taught business communication courses as a guest instructor in the business school from 1989 to 1995.

Hansmann and Lattner are the 27th and 28th recipients of the scholarship, which was established in 1995. More information on the scholarship and the Fanning Center is available on the Web at www.nd.edu/~fanning.

Contact: James S. O’Rourke, Director, Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication, James.S.ORourke.2

Best Buddies International, a non-profit organization focused on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has designated the University of Notre Dame’s chapter as an Outstanding Chapter of the Year for the 2008-09 school year.

The Notre Dame chapter was honored in July at the awards ceremony of the 20th annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference in Bloomington, Ind.

The Best Buddies program seeks to eliminate social isolation for those with disabilities by creating strong one-on-one friendships with non-disabled peers.

The program was started by Anthony Kennedy Shriver in 1989 at Georgetown University and has grown to include more than 1,400 middle school, high school and college chapters worldwide. More than 400,000 lives have been touched by this organization.

The Notre Dame chapter pairs Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College students with South Bend citizens with disabilities through the Logan Center. Chapter events, which include karaoke night, bowling, science night and costume parties, are held twice a month. Buddy pairs also spend time in one-to-one settings engaging in activities such as going to the movies, shopping, a Notre Dame sporting event, or out to eat.

The award winner is selected based on the quality of its one-to-one friendships, group outings, chapter involvement, community awareness and chapter communication. The Notre Dame chapter also was recognized for its strong student leadership, faculty support and community connections.

The Notre Dame Best Buddies chapter also was honored in 2004 with an honorable mention for national Chapter of the Year and as Chapter of the Year for the State of Indiana.

Contact: Best Buddies, bbuddies@nd.edu

The University of Notre Dame will observe its third annual Energy Week from Sept. 13 to 19 (Sunday to Saturday) with the theme “Green is the new Black.”

Organized by members of the Student Advisory Board of the Notre Dame Energy Center, each day of Energy Week will feature energy education and awareness activities, including participation from major energy companies, lectures on renewable energy sources, tours of both the Notre Dame power plant and the New Energy Ethanol Plant, and screenings of documentaries and energy-focused movies, such as “Fuel” and “Earth.”

Students also can participate in a career luncheon featuring representatives from major energy companies, attend a “green” prayer service and participate in the third annual “Lights Out,” during which students, faculty and staff across campus will power down and turn the lights off for three hours Sept. 14.

Energy Week is designed to promote awareness and education in the Notre Dame community about energy challenges. Participation in these events will allow students, faculty and staff to gain a better understanding of our nation’s energy crisis and will provide the basic tools and knowledge to help affect change and bring about a more sustainable energy future.

Energy Week is sponsored by the Notre Dame Energy Center Student Advisory Board and GreeND. For more information, visit http://energycenter.nd.edu on the Web.

Contact: Barbara Villarosa, 631-4776, villarosa.2@nd.edu

University of Notre Dame anthropologist Karen Richman has been awarded the Robert F. Heizer Article Award by the American Society for Ethnohistory. The award recognizes the best article in the field of ethnohistory this year.

Richman, the director of academic affairs and the Center for Migration and Border 91��Ƶ in the University’s Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ, was recognized for an article on Haitian Vodou art that appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of the journal Ethnohistory.

Richman’s article uses a scandal at a Chicago-area elementary school as the starting point for a discussion on how artistic mimicry can serve to engage modes of perceiving and understanding Haitian culture. By utilizing the travel memoirs of experts on Haitian Vodou art, the article suggests that despite the apparent contradiction, mimicry in art can provide valuable insight into how cultures see themselves.

Richman, a faculty fellow in Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, specializes in Haitian society, language, religion, migration and politics.

The American Society for Ethnohistory is the preeminent international organization in the field of ethnohistory. Founded in 1954, the society is an outgrowth of research conducted for the Indian Claims Act of 1946. The Heizer award was established in 1980 in honor of Dr. Robert Heizer, a famed ethnohistorian and archaeologist. Richman is the first Notre Dame faculty member to receive this prestigious award.

Contact: Karen Richman, krichman@nd.edu