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Ennio Morricone & Etsuro Sotoo for UNIV 2012

2012-02-17T03:26:00.000-08:00

Ennio Morricone and Etsuro Sotoo coming to UNIV 2012
Music and sculpture, creative art media that allow the contemplation of beauty, will be presented in the UNIV 2012 Congress. Pulchrum: The Power of Beauty is what has brought these two greats from world of art and music together to share their vision of the power of beauty with university students from around the world.

Ennio Morricone, (Rome, 1928) is a musician, composer and orchestra director of world renown. He is best-known for his work in composing film soundtracks although he is also a magnificent orchestra director. Ennio is one of the most well-known cine music composers, thanks to the music of spaghetti westerns such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and to the melodies that accompanied famous movies like The Mission, Days of Heaven and Cinema Paradiso.

He has created more than 500 soundtracks for films and television series, and has worked with directors such as Sergio Leone, Roland Joffé and Brian de Palma. At the 2007 Academy Awards, he acknowledged that the recognition and accolades are not culminating points for him, but rather inspire and encourage him to keep working.

Ennio receiving an honorary Oscar in 2007

Etsuro Sotoo, (Fukuoka, 1953) is a Japanese sculptor, based in Barcelona, and known mainly for his work in the design and construction of the façade of the basilica Sagrada Familia following the instructions left by Antonio Gaudí. Through his work on the Sagrada Familia and in searching for beauty, Sotoo discovered and converted to the Catholic faith. As he himself explains, “At first, it wasn’t easy. The cultural and religious differences with the world from which I came were deep.” But then he adds, “I wanted to be faithful to the spirit of Gaudí, to penetrate his essence. Then I realized that, even with all my good will, I could only reach a certain point. At that moment I realized that I shouldn’t look at Gaudí, but to where he was looking.”

Etsuro at work in his studio

Dr. Scott Hahn to speak at UNIV 2012

2012-01-16T10:29:00.001-08:00

UNIV 2012 - Special Guest Speaker
Dr. Scott Hahn
Speaking on: The Beauty of Truth

Dr. Scott Hahn was born in 1957, and has been married to Kimberly since 1979. He and Kimberly have six children and are expecting their fifth grandchild. An exceptionally popular speaker and teacher, Dr. Hahn has delivered numerous talks in the US and internationally on a wide variety of topics related to Scripture and the Catholic faith. Hundreds of these talks have been produced on audio and videotapes by St. Joseph Communications.

His talks have been effective in helping thousands of Protestants and fallen away Catholics to (re)embrace the Catholic faith. He is currently a Professor of Theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990, and is the founder and director of the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology. In 2005, he was appointed as the Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Dr. Hahn is also the bestselling author of numerous books including The Lamb’s Supper, Reasons to Believe, and Rome Sweet Home (co-authored with his wife, Kimberly).

Scott Hahn and his wife Kimberly

Some of his newest books are Many Are Called, Hope for Hard Times, The Catholic Bible Dictionary, and Signs of Life. Scott received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a triple-major in Theology, Philosophy and Economics from Grove City College, Pennsylvania, in 1979, his Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Biblical Theology from Marquette University in 1995. Scott has ten years of youth and pastoral ministry experience in Protestant congregations (in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Kansas and Virginia) and is a former Professor of Theology at Chesapeake Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1982 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginia. He entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, 1986.

UNIV Calendar

2011-12-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

In an effort to reflect the different academic years, we have divided the UNIV calendar by hemispheres.

Southern Hemisphere
January 13        SEND: Registration Form and UNIV projects
February 3       Notification and corrections of selected projects
February 13     SEND: Confirmation Form and Final Versions of presentations

Northern Hemisphere
January 13       SEND: Abstract and Bibliography of written projects
February 13     SEND: Registration Form and UNIV projects
March 3          Notification and corrections of selected projects
March 13        SEND: Confirmation Form and Final Versions of presentations

Good luck working!

Joseph Pearce: Beauty is Truth

2011-11-11T08:36:00.001-08:00

BEAUTY IS TRUTH:

FAITH AND AESTHETICS

‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know …’

- John Keats (Ode on a Grecian Urn)

John Keats’ pithy praise of beauty is both beautiful and elusive. It beguiles us; it seduces us; but does it satisfy us? Is it a satisfactory explanation of the relationship between the beautiful and the true? Doesn’t it beg more questions than it answers? If beauty is truth, what is truth; if truth is beautiful, what is beauty? These are questions that have animated the greatest philosophers since the time of Plato and Aristotle.

For the Greeks, and for Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, the good, the true, and the beautiful are inextricably entwined. And, for the Christian, they are not only entwined but ultimately are one and the same thing: they are the Thing that is Christ.

Jesus Christ is the answer to Pilate’s perennial question: quid est veritas? It is Christ Himself who is truth. And it is Christ who is also beauty and goodness. Christ is the very incarnation of the good, the true and the beautiful. He is these three things rolled into one. Truth is, therefore, trinitarian. It is one with the good and the beautiful.

Since, properly understood, they are synonymous with Christ, it can be seen that the good, the true and the beautiful are the ends for which we strive. They are, however, also the means by which we attain the end. Christ is not merely the truth and the life, he is the way. He is not only the end, He is the means. All that is good, all that is true and all that is beautiful have their source in Christ and lead us to Him. This is true beauty, but it is a beauty and truth that is unseen by the scribes, pharisees and hypocrites who have always sought to crucify the beautiful and the true on the altar of self-idolatry. For such as these, the purpose of the cross is to highlight cross purposes, in the sense that those blinded by pride can see only the meaningless contradiction and not the meaningful paradox. They ask Pilate’s question not for the purposes of finding an answer, nor in the Socratic sense of seeking to prompt further questions, but merely as a means of affirming that there is no answer. For deconstructed man, Pilate’s question is purely rhetorical because there is nothing but rhetoric. Words are toys with which we persuade ourselves that nothing is persuasive.

Deconstructed man is also disintegrated man. He fails to see the integration of goodness, truth and beauty, and thereby condemns himself to a segregated cosmos in which sin is good, ugliness is beautiful, and truth is a lie. This is the fragmentation that leads to madness. It is literally the explosion of truth into disintegrating pieces.

The challenge of integrating our segregated culture has been central to the mission of the Church down the centuries. From the early heresies and the early modern monstrosities of Machiavelli, to the more modern errors of Marx and Mammon, the Catholic Church has been combating error from Her very beginning. As the one body that, in Chesterton’s memorable phrase, has been “thinking about thinking” for two thousand years, the Church continues to speaking universally and univocally against the self-deification that leads to self-destruction. With her infallible wisdom she uses the dynamism of orthodoxy to defuse the truth-exploding dynamite of heresy.

This ancient and venerable office of the Church was evident in November 2008 in a public event sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Literature on the theme, “the universality of beauty: a comparison between aesthetics and ethics”. Pope Benedict, in a message to those gathering at this convocation, stressed the “urgent need for a renewed dialogue between aesthetics and ethics, between beauty, truth and goodness”. The Holy Father lamented the “dramatically-evident split” between the pursuit of the external trappings of beauty and the idea of a beauty rooted in truth and goodness: “Indeed, searching for a beauty that is foreign to or separate from the human search for truth and goodness would become (as unfortunately happens) mere aestheticism and, especially for the very young, a path leading to ephemeral values and to banal and superficial appearances, even a flight into an artificial paradise that masks inner emptiness.”

Reiterating the necessity of contemporary culture to rediscover the integration of beauty, truth and goodness, the Pope stressed that the commitment to recover and rediscover this philosophical integrity was even more important for Christians: “And if such a commitment applies to everyone, it applies even more to believers, to the disciples of Christ, who are called by the Lord to ‘give reasons’ for all the beauty and truth of their faith.”

Invoking the wisdom of his predecessor, the Holy Father referred to John Paul II’s Letter to Artists, “which invites us to reflect upon … the fruitful dialogue between Holy Scripture and various forms of art, whence countless masterpieces have emerged”. When Christians create works that “render glory unto the Father”, Pope Benedict asserted, they speak of the “goodness and profound truth” that they are portraying, as well as the integrity and sanctity of the artist or author. Knowing how to “read and scrutinize the beauty of works of art inspired by the faith” can lead Christians to a “unique path that brings us close to God and His Word”. This path was itself a means to evangelize the wider culture through the power of beauty and, as such, the Pope urged believers to learn how to “communicate with the language of images and symbols … in order effectively to reach our contemporaries”.

With his customary eloquence and sagacity, the Holy Father has provided the truth that elevates Keats’ poetic epigram to a level beyond mere banality. In an age of rational illiteracy, in which deconstructed man has turned his back contemptuously on truth, the power of beauty still speaks in colours beyond words and thoughts. In an age in which love and goodness have been narcissistically inverted so that all love and goodness are about “me” and not the “other”; an age in which the self-sacrificial heart of true love has been removed and replaced by egocentric counterfeit “loves”; in such an age, beauty still pulsates with healthier passions and nobler desires.

Even an age that can’t think or love, can still be touched by beauty. A sunrise still speaks to the most hardened hearts and arouses feelings of inarticulate gratitude. And gratitude is full of grace, arousing the desire to say “thank you” to someone. Such gratitude is the birth of humility in proud hearts, the birth-pangs of which will break the heart itself. For the proud heart must be broken in order that it might be healed. For, as Oscar Wilde knew all too well, it is only through a broken heart that Lord Christ may enter in. Oh, may His beauty break our hearts, so that we may know Him truly and so that we may taste and see that He is good. In the name of the Good, the True and the Beautiful. Amen.

From Joseph Pearce's forthcoming book Beauteous Truth: Faith, Reason, Literature and Culture.

"PULCHRUM", Development of the theme

2011-10-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

PULCHRUM: The Power of Beauty

The theme proposed for UNIV forum 2012 is: "Pulchrum: the power of beauty". This requires an open and reflective attitude on the part of those who wish to participate in UNIV 2012: What is "Pulchrum" and in what sense do we use this word?

“Unum, Verum, Bonum, Pulchrum” are latin words which classical philosophy gives to the Transcendentals of Being, that is, those realities that are present in everything that exists. In other words, all that exists –all that has Being– is One, True, Good and Beautiful, by virtue of the fact that it is. Pulchrum, the theme for UNIV 2012, is an invitation to think about beauty as something inherent in Being; from the many different perspectives of human experience.

The subtitle of this year’s theme, “the power of beauty”, focuses but without reducing our reflection on this Transcendental. Considering the power of beauty in everyday life leads us to the realization that beauty does have the power to transform, inspire, attract, communicate, and much more! Just think of the beauty of a sunset and the feelings that it evokes! Who has not felt the attraction of beauty while contemplating a work of art like Michelangelo's Pieta or the Victory of Samothrace? Is it not true that the beauty of a well-set table –a letter written to a friend; the purring sound of the engine of a new car; the sense of satisfaction in working out a difficult mathematical problem – have the power to transform a person?

Maybe you are thinking: "Some dishes, glasses and cutlery placed on a table: is this beauty?" Of course it is! This and many more things can be and are beautiful. At times, a short-sighted vision can obscure the presence of beauty in the world. Sometimes, one may be induced to think of something as beautiful when in reality, this is a manipulation, oppression or, simply a lie. The sense of the beauty is something we all have innately but it needs to be educated! The question is whether this education is something that is freely chosen and accepted intelligently or whether it is imposed by the empty but deafening cry produced by ignorance, indifference or folly. One needs to open one’s eyes to be able to discern this well.

Beauty is the companion of Being; it is Being seen by contemplative eyes. Well then; direct your contemplative gaze to look at your life, your day, your environment, at yourself! Look inside yourself. Where do you encounter beauty? Where do you look for it? Where do you truly find it? (please note that the answers to these questions are not necessarily the same!). Do not overlook anything, however small it may seem; you can ask the same questions of friends, colleagues and of society as a whole.

Having sought and found beauty, you then need to ask yourself: Why do we value beauty? But do not stop at "how does it make you feel,". Go a step further! How does beauty transform you? This is where you will find the power of beauty.

But the journey does not end here…

Research: As has already been said, the sense of beauty needs to be educated. To achieve this and help cultivate and refine the sense of beauty we have the vast contribution of great artists, thinkers, writers and lovers of beauty down through the ages.

Evaluation. Consider the experience of these masters of literature, thought, music, art ... with what you see and hear on the street, classroom, office, etc.. Choose a specific topic and from the data drawn from your day to day life, make an assessment.

Proposal. You are now in a position to chart the way forward. This journey of beauty started in Being –what exists– and must end in Being. What is your contribution to the world –to the world around you– so that others can benefit from this light you have discovered or rediscovered? No doubt they will thank you.
This is the exiting challenge of UNIV 2012! Now go for it!

THEME FOR UNIV 2012

2011-07-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

After the success of the UNIV 2011 Congress, based on the theme of FREEDOM, we would like to introduce the theme of the next UNIV Congress so that we can already start to think about it and prepare it.

UNIV 2012 is called Pulchrum - the power of beauty. We attach a video that we prepared to present this theme.

Report on UNIV 2011

2011-05-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

UNIV 2011: Freedom, Internationality & JPII

Once again, hundreds of young people from more than fifty countries gathered in Rome for the 44th UNIV Congress. The challenge was to exchange ideas about and enrich one’s personal vision of freedom. As well as having the opportunity of living Holy Week close to the Pope, this year there was a special ambience in the Eternal City due to the approaching beatification of John Paul II. The beatification of the predecessor of Benedict XVI served as an underlying touchstone throughout the congress: one of the speakers, journalist Valentina Alazraky, gave her own personal testimony of working with John Paul II for over 25 years. His words and writings were also quoted in various presentations throughout the two-day congress.

Tuesday, 19th April, 2011

The congress entitled Living Freedom Decisively opened on Tuesday morning. As the first speaker Paloma Durán admitted, this year’s theme was a particular challenge since, “historically, rivers of ink have been spilt on this topic, and it is difficult to give an adequate response within a few pages.”

On arrival at the Teatro Quirino, the participants of the 44th UNIV Congress registered and received their folders at the same time as two short videos were being played: the best moments of John Paul II with UNIV and an introduction video of this year’s theme with ideas taken from paradigmatic figures such as Nelson Mandela, Victor Frankl and John Paul II himself.

The morning events began with a brief address from Ágnes Csimma, president of the 2011 congress, who introduced the theme and gave a short personal testimony about the experience of freedom in her native country, Hungary. Having been under a totalitarian regime and deprived in many ways of their personal freedom, many Hungarians today, according to Csimma, find it difficult to exercise this precious gift of freedom in a constructive way, particularly in living their citizenship in the newly-founded democracy.

Then the moderator Ilaria Vigorelli, an Italian philosopher, presented the first speaker of the morning: Paloma Durán, a professor at the Complutense University of Madrid. Her speech was entitled: Citizenship in the 21st Century: The Challenges of Freedom. Durán began by referring to the “photograph” of the society we live in, describing how freedom and citizenship are lived in today’s world. She then went on to explain that these two aspects are necessarily interconnected, because the way in which people understand their freedom affects how they get involved in civil society. As the UNIV congress is about contributing positive ideas in society and being constructive, the speaker presented a proposal in which both values – Freedom and Citizenship - are related: The attractive aspect of this challenge is to develop and reinforce the exercise of our freedom which leads us to love the world in which we live, considering it our own, and to try to improve it with our personal conduct; in other words, to use our head and our heart.

The next speaker, Professor Gotti Etore Tedeschi, explained with economic data from various Western countries how the current economic crisis is not a result of a technical hitch in an economic system, but rather a reflection of a deeper problem which he classified as a “moral crisis.” According to Tedeschi, this moral crisis affects all aspects of the human person, and the economic aspect is no exception. Prof. Tedeschi was a member of the team who collaborated with Benedict XVI in writing the encyclical Caritas in Veritate. To round off his speech, he explained the structure of this latest encyclical which deals extensively with the underlying problems of the economic crisis, giving the UNIV participants some key points for interpreting the document.

The first day of the congress closed with the announcement of the theme for the 45th UNIV Congress in 2012: “Pulchrum: the power of beauty”. To launch the theme and give some initial ideas, a short video was presented which quoted various classical authors on the theme of beauty.

Wednesday, 20th April, 2011

The second half of the congress took place the following day, in the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, beside Piazza Navona. The afternoon began with a special activity for those interested in attending: a concert of sacred music featuring organ, violin and cello which took place in the Basilica of St. Apollinare, lasting about 45 minutes.

Immediately afterwards, the participants took their places at the various round tables which were organized according to language and topics: freedom and new technologies, freedom and fashion, etc. It was an opportunity to present and debate the papers, videos and posters that the university students worked on during the year.

The final session of the congress took place in the Aula Magna of the university – appropriately named John Paul II – and consisted of two parts: a presentation of the best UNIV 2011 paper and a personal testimony which offered John Paul II as an example of a person who knew how to live freedom even in extraordinary circumstances.

The innovation this year was the presentation of the best paper to all the participants gathered in the auditorium. Nicole van Heerden, a film student from New Zealand, outlined the reasoning behind her paper Freedom to be Excellent or Indifferent? The Great Paradox of New Zealand Cinema: Why our free society produces the kind of films it does. Conducting a serious research project, van Heerden sought an explanation for a trend she observed in her field of study. She recognized that, although New Zealand cinema has talented artists and solid economic support – a situation she evaluated as “a climate of freedom where the art can develop” – the films that are produced tend to be bleak, pessimistic and centered on the negative aspects of life. She concluded that the artistic environment depends a lot on the underlying concept of freedom in society. When freedom is understood as indifference towards options, artistic freedom does not need to produce something beautiful because freedom is seen as an end in itself. By contrast, van Heerden proposed that cinema will produce true art when freedom is understood as a means to achieve something good and beautiful.

The piece de resistance of UNIV 2011 came in the form of the last speaker, Valentina Alazraki, a Mexican journalist specializing in Vatican information. Valentina shared her personal testimony as a person who worked closely with John Paul II and now works with Benedict XVI. Her speech was entitled Following John Paul II for 25 years, and in it, Valentina showed how Blessed Pope John Paul portrayed his immense interior freedom throughout his pontificate. She outlined for the participants moments in which the pope “broke the rules” of protocol on numerous occasions during his pontificate. These were not manifestations of an anarchical spirit but rather of a profound consciousness that he had to be a Pope in service of the people.

Photos of UNIV 2011

2011-05-23T03:47:00.000-07:00

Click here for photos of the Congress - UNIV 2011

See photos from UNIV 2011 - audience with the Pope

2011-05-23T03:29:00.000-07:00

UNIV channel on YouTube

2011-05-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

There is a new channel in YouTube with all the UNIV short video clips.
Click here to take a look and invite your friends to do the same!!

Latest news from Nigeria

2011-02-26T01:55:00.000-08:00

Report of the National Workshop- UNIV 2011

In Nigeria,the national workshop of UNIV 2011 took place in Iwollo Conference Centre, Enugu, from the 26th to the 30th of October 2010. It was attended by twenty-one university students from different universities in Nigeria, and was an opportunity for them to learn from one another, and exchange ideas on the UNIV theme: ‘Living Freedom Decisively’.

Many of the students had never been to the Eastern part of the country, therefore the workshop was a very exciting and adventurous experience.
The theme was explored in-depth during the workshop and each group explained to the others what they had been working on all through the year. Some groups worked on ‘Fashion and Freedom; another group worked on ‘Emotional freedom, while another group had worked on Personality development. The working sessions, where each group explained their project to the others, was a great learning field for all the participants-many got new ideas which they took back to their different destinations.

On the third day of the workshop, the 28th, we had a symposium where speakers were invited to throw more light on the theme. One of them, Guidance Counsellor in the department of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, spoke on the topic: ‘Choosing a major and a career. In it, she encouraged the students to use their freedom well in choosing a career. She asked them to choose always, for the right reasons, and to help their friends choose their careers wisely, as well. The second speaker, Dr. Mrs. Chibuko, a lecturer in the department of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, spoke on the topic: ‘The University and the Forming of convictions’
There was an interactive session after the lecture during which participants asked questions related to the papers presented.

Four of the student participants also presented their papers.

The lecturers commended the efforts of the students, and were quite impressed with the papers presented. They urged the students present to continue taking part in UNIV activities, since they stand to benefit a great deal from these activities.

Everyone was quite happy at the end of the symposium, because we had learnt a lot. The workshop came to an end on the 30th of October.

LOGO UNIV 2011

2010-12-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

The image that represents the 2011 UNIV theme (Living Freedom Decisively) is made up of two basic elements: a windsurfer with a background of wind and wave.

The concept of freedom that we want to communicate with this image is that the human person, with his or her intelligence and will, directs the surf board—an extension of his or her own person/life—towards a goal. He or she does this within a particular context, represented here by, the ocean.

The wind and the wave, the former symbolized by the sweeping golden shape and the latter by the semicircular blue shape, show the interior and exterior circumstances that the person encounters throughout his or her life. These shape the path each person takes to reach his or her goal. These two elements direct the sail with varying rhythm and intensity. Here is where the intelligence and strength of the windsurfer comes into play. The person who has trained well knows what position to take and how to orient the sail in the right direction. He or she knows how to take advantage of the wind and surf the right wave in order to reach the goal – aware also that not every wind or wave are going to help achieve that objective.

It is not possible to exhaust all the aspects involved in the concept of a right understanding of freedom in a single image. At the same time, the metaphor of the world of windsurfing encompasses many images that have been used throughout history to represent freedom: the sea, movement, hands that direct, wind, etc. For this reason, we think it works well to explain in a graphic way the theme of UNIV 2011.

The theme proposed for this year’s UNIV is an invitation to dialogue with those who have mistaken or reductive concepts of freedom as manifested in, for example, activism, licentiousness, or the dictatorship of duty. With this image as our logo, we wish to show that freedom implies movement, but that it is not reduced to activism because it also requires orientation, reflection, direction and training of the person in order to reach his or her goal. In addition, the windsurf image invites us to enjoy the challenge and to embrace the task of learning to be free as something attractive as well as worthwhile.

News from Ireland

2010-10-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

See the poster that the UNIV team in Ireland have put together

UNIV 2011 Project Tips

2010-07-30T03:04:00.000-07:00

If you have decided to work on a project for the 2011 UNIV Congress, but are not sure how to go about it, this entry is for you. Read it slowly and let us know what you think. In the following paragraphs, we will try to give you a bit of context, some ideas, and a few examples to help you with your project.
First, it is important to have clear what the UNIV Congress is in order to focus your project accordingly. UNIV has its feet planted firmly on the ground and is interested in the things of the world, cultivating an optimistic spirit of reflection that is committed to reality. The final phase of the congress is an international encounter of young people that takes place in Rome which creates opportunities for dialogue among the members of the university community so as to study the pressing questions of our society. This often leads to a greater appreciation of the richness and complexities of today's intellectual and social environment.

Let's get started. Reflect on your own reality, the one you live each day: your family, university or work atmosphere, social relations, the economic or political situation of your country, etc. But don’t look at it with routine, superficial eyes. Look at it with interest, as something that belongs to you. The point is not to make a cold analysis, but to understand it and offer solutions, knowing that change depends on you.

Once you have already decided on your topic, rather than attempting to cover everything, concentrate on a particular aspect, something that piques your intellectual curiosity. If you want, you can also look for a partner to tackle it with you.

After the initial stage of enthusiasm—without letting it go—stop a moment and think about the underlying concepts of your topic. When you realize you lack information, start researching. Look for the different perspectives of the experts in the field, read and discuss to fill in the gaps, until you start defining the key ideas of the issue. Then you can begin formulating your own contribution.

Probably a lot of topics occur to you, but if that’s not the case, we have some suggestions.

Now it's time to delve into your chosen topic. We’ll give you an example, if it helps.

For example: You love film. It’s an interest you share with your friends and classmates, so you decide to convert it into an UNIV project. You consider film an artform that is about to reach people from all classes and conditions, with the potential to share experiences, knowledge, even lifestyles. With a specific language, it tells you something about the human person, and therefore about yourself, too. And it does it effectively, the director easily introducing you into the reality he or she wants to transmit.

Now, since the theme for this year is about freedom, you can focus your work along those lines.

Freedom in film. What are the basic concepts of freedom that would help in an analysis of the anthropology found in film? Knowing something about the language of film is also key because everything communicates, everything forms part of the story: music, scenery, dialogues and silences, camera shots and movements. It’s not about focusing on the message alone, but also on the way in which it is constructed.

Have a critical eye that allows you to evaluate the director’s proposal, since one doesn’t only watch film, one lives it. Watching a movie is not something indifferent. For that reason, it is important to know how to step back and think about what the film is communicating to you. You could get stuck in “What a great movie” or “That was awful” but the present times demand that you know how to present and support your opinions about what you’ve seen.

You can compare several movies—plots, characters, music, montage—or also look at the influence film has in a certain sector of society. You can offer advice to those in your same social sphere on how to watch a movie with a critical eye, or write an article for a magazine, etc. It's up to you.

Another example. You could choose a social issue that affects your country or environment in which you evaluate the various understandings of freedom present and their consequences. One possibility is to approach the topic from the point of view of the different parties involved: the media, politicians, university students, the local community. But on one condition: Stay away from generalizations!

The main criterion is that your work doesn’t stay in a theoretical approximation, but rather combines the theoretical with the existential: how it affects you and those around you. Only in this way will your contribution be effective, giving concrete solutions to familiar realities. In one word: Initiatives! We hope that from the effort to study and work on different aspects reality come small, medium, or big projects that help improve society.

UNIV 2011 Theme: Living Freedom Decisively

2010-07-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

In the last few centuries, nothing has been more valued than freedom. At the same time, however, nothing has been more threatened. Together with an exaltation of personal liberty on the part of many, there have also appeared schools of thought which limit and even deny human freedom. Some thinkers thus understand personal decisions merely as side effects determined by one’s culture, by economic factors, or even by physical processes. Others, by contrast, affirm freedom but understand it as a completely undetermined capacity. Freedom thus comes to mean being entirely unbound and all forms of personal commitment or determination consequently become viewed as hindrances and limitations of one’s freedom.

Understanding the meaning of freedom takes on greater urgency during one’s youth. For young people, moreover, this problem is not an abstract one but rather personal and concrete. Contemplating their future, various unavoidable and urgent questions arise: Can my current decisions already affect my entire future life, in spite of all of its unforeseeable events? Moreover, are such decisions an unfair limitation of my freedom? The question of freedom is also urgent with respect to one’s present. Our small daily choices are a constant invitation to live coherently as well as a continual opportunity to improve our world. Living freely is not only a question of radical choices made in decisive moments. Each person must also choose one’s path in life as a whole and then follow it with persistent determination.

Pope Benedict XVI has forcefully expressed his confidence in human freedom. He often points out that decisions which give rise to serious commitments “are the only ones that allow one to grow, to move forward and achieve something worthwhile in life. They are the only ones which do not destroy freedom, but rather teach it the right direction in which to go” (Interview, 16.7.2006). At the same time, the Pope has also affirmed that freedom is not an absolute reality: freedom can only be understood in relation to the truth. Thus the value of one’s decisions—both those which affect one’s entire life and those made each and every day—is judged by the truth of the convictions which underlie them. In the end, one’s commitment to the truth is the only reliable basis upon which free decisions can be faithfully maintained over the course of time. Living freedom decisively is thus first of all living the truth decisively.

The 2011 UNIV Organizing Committee wants to contribute to the ongoing contemporary reflection on freedom, commitment, and the value of personal convictions, while doing so from a perspective which is both profound and practical. The following are possible fields of inquiry:

- daily personal decisions: their necessity and relevance, especially in fields like medicine, business, public opinion, etc.;
- freedom’s dimensions: freedom from and freedom for, What role do personal convictions and the moral virtues play in making daily choices?;
- business ethics: responsible decision making, the value of loyalty;
- university education and the formation of convictions;
- freedom and history: big and small decisions that have changed history, concrete examples: the dedication of Petrarch or of Alexander Fleming; work and inspiration: their role in the great scientific, artistic, cultural and social revolutions;
- the youth and serious decisions: Can young people make important and lasting decisions?; concrete examples: George Washington, L. Braille, Thomas Edison, Alexander the Great, etc.;
- freedom and service: personal commitment and the “new narcissism.”

UNIV POST 2010

2010-06-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

Rome, Holy Week: the traditional setting for this latest UNIV Congress. Each year the same, yet each year different, like the university spirit, which knows how to combine the memory of the past with a constant drive for progress.

The aim of these few lines is to give a basic sketch of the main events of the 2010 UNIV Congress – just enough to provoke in its readers the longing to attend next year’s congress and, for those who were in Rome this year, to offer some memories in print.

Tuesday, March 30

2010-06-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

The atmosphere could raise the spirits of anyone who laid eyes on it: hundreds of university women arriving to the picturesque Teatro Quirino, overflowing with the desire to listen and contribute. The rows of red seats filled up quickly, and by 10:30am the crowded auditorium could hear the words of Congress Vice-president, Marta Faría (Portugal), inaugurating the 43rd annual UNIV International Congress: Can Christianity Inspire a Global Culture?

Our keynote speaker, author and convert Joseph Pearce (United States), was a big hit. In his presentation, The Catholic Cultural Revival, he took his audience on a quick tour of the major milestones where intellectual history and the Christian witness of intellectuals intersect. Pearce began developing his presentation from a universal perspective, and then focused on the British experience: he mentioned Newman, Tolkien, Lewis and Chesterton among the paradigmatic Christian intellectuals of this great cultural renewal with profoundly Christian roots. Pearce’s main message to the university students: discover the value and the power of culture to transform culture itself.

The next speaker, the young general manager of Kerygma, Alejandro Luque (Spain), grabbed the audience with a practical message that also conveyed hope, since for a good publicist, crises are always opportunities. He based his presentation mostly on experiences he has come across in his profession, using a series of television commercials as examples. Luque succeeded in transmitting the conviction that the human person and his/her values are the truest and most effective solution to the “advertising crisis.” For this reason he encouraged all those present to reflect on the essence of the person, and to present creative and professional proposals to the advertising world. According to Luque, this would not only assure long-term success to products on the market, but it would also be an effective way of transmitting to today’s society lifestyles that are healthy, attractive and in accordance with the truth about the human person.

The congress took on a more testimonial and personal tone with the last speaker, Mercedes Flores (Spain), painter and mother of a large family. As the university students listened with great interest, Flores shared a series of reflections on life which included her personal experience with suffering as well as her vision of the value of friendship and art.

During the question-and-answer session, the attendees assumed the power of the word with gusto. They posed questions to the speakers, sharing their restlessness and aspirations to do something positive for the society in which they live.

We closed this first day with the UNIV Around the World presentation which highlighted the local congresses and activities held in various countries throughout the year, approaching the theme of Christianity and culture from various and original perspectives.

See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 1

2010-06-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

The elegant and luminous Palazzo dell’Apollinare, the academic seat of the University of the Holy Cross, hosted the Wednesday afternoon presentation and debate of the selected papers submitted by a good number of the participating university students.

Before beginning the event, the student choir from The Willows Academy delighted the participants of the 2010 UNIV Congress with a concert entitled Music for Holy Week. The voices of the 16 girls from Illinois (USA), directed by Karen Wilberg, elevated the spirits of the hundreds of girls who sat in the pews of the Basilica of the Apollinare. Throughout history, music has always been an excellent channel for the inculturation of the faith, making the musical event very pertinent to the 2010 theme: Can Christianity Inspire a Global Culture? The repertoire included pieces by composing giants such as Mendelssohn and Lasso, as well as distinct version of the Ave Maria.

3:45pm. The choral music gave way to the sound of voices in the university classrooms where papers were presented in eight simultaneous round table discussions – six in Spanish and two in English. Each table was moderated by a university professor or a professional of the given field. Within the general theme of this year, the disciplines in which the participants focused their papers were wide-ranging, and were grouped around various thematic areas: for the Spanish tables, Art, Architecture & Fashion; Science, Medicine & Bioethics; Cinema & Communication; Philosophical Questions; and Society, Politics & Solidarity; and for the English tables, Art, Communication & Truth and Ethics, Politics & Society.

Among the selected papers, we could mention a few which stood out especially for the quality of the work and its relation to this year’s theme, even though a few of the authors were not able to attend to present them: “El fuego y la pólvora: el amor inmortal en Crepúsculo” (“Fire and Gunpowder: Immortal Love in Twilight”) by the Argentinians Pilar Heredia, Carolina Olivera and Alejandra Juliarena; “Tres escritores rusos que buscaron la libertad y la verdad durante la dictadura literaria del social-realismo” (“Three Russian Authors Seeking Freedom and Truth during the Literary Dictatorship of Social-Realism”) by S. Strokova coming from Russia; “Christianity and Indigenous Australia. Reflections on the Past, and Propositions for the Future”, by the Australians Chantal Nguyen and Kristine Malabanan; “La asignatura de religión: conveniente o necesaria?” (“Religion Class: Useful or Necessary?”) by Marta Rodríguez, Reyes Cruz, Marina Carmana and Ana Sánchez from Spain; and “The dialogue between Christianity and Confucianism” by Carina C. Calugcug, Carolyn L. Ang and Olivia Goh from Singapore.

As the icing on the cake for the 2010 UNIV Congress, all the participants gathered once again to hear the personal testimonies of Joseph Pearce and of Nadja El Beihiri, moderator of Tuesday’s event. El Beihiri is currently the department director of Roman Law at the Catholic University of Pázmány Péter in Budapest, Hungary, where she also teaches. On this occasion she did not address her Spanish-speaking audience to give a lecture on statutes; rather, she shared her life story. With her Egyptian father and Austrian mother, she spent most of her childhood in Egypt, the country she had to escape from with her mother when her father passed away. She was Muslim by religion, but began to discover the Catholic faith and, as the culmination of a process of intellectual reflection and life experience, she decided to convert. Joseph Pearce, addressing the English-speaking participants, shared his process of conversion to Catholicism. The participants directed various questions to the two speakers with simplicity and charm, leaving Pearce greatly impressed, as he later commented to the members of the Organizing Committee of the congress.

We will sign off here. Once more the UNIV Congress has allowed us to see the fruitfulness that comes from an interchange among university students at this international level: the possibility to dialogue with people from diverse cultures and fields, and the opportunity to hear good ideas confirmed by an exemplary life.

UNIV for the first time in RUSSIA

2010-02-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

This past December 12, 2009 was the first UNIV activity at Yantar Cultural Center in Moscow. The first meeting was a good oportunity to explain UNIV, both the Congress, as well as the rest of the week's activities during Holy Week in Rome. After hearing about UNIV, viewing some photos and watching a video, the participants showed great enthusiasm and eagerness to attend.
Sveta, who took these photos, is working on a paper to present at this year's Congress on a number of renowned Russian authors of the Soviet period and how their their Christian point of view, seen through their writings, influences Russia´s culture today.

UNIV Initiatives in Lagos, Nigeria

2010-02-26T07:10:00.000-08:00

The Univ forum in Lagos has encouraged many university students to contribute positively to the communities in which they live. This year, students who participate in the UNIV activities in Afara Cultural Centre came up with a few initiatives in their local community.

Makoko, Nigeria
The first was a community development project in the nearby sub-urban community of Makoko, which held from the 31st of August to the 12th of September. Makoko is a riverine area, and the inhabitants of the community are mainly settlers from Badagary and immigrants from the Republic of Benin. The students organized a two-week basic literacy programme for children in the community, many of whom cannot afford to go to school. The students made daily trips to the community to teach for a period of time. About 30 girls in all participated in the project.

In addition to this, the medical students decided to organize a medical promotion in the community. They set about raising funds for the required equipment: Sphygmomanometers, Stethoscopes, some ‘Over the Counter’ drugs, and so on... Unfortunately, there was a poor response to the fund-drive, so the students contributed some money to buy the minimum required. On Sunday the 27th of September, a team of doctors, nurses and some medical students set out for the community. They were able to run a mini-clinic, refer cases which required specialist attention appropriately, and give health talks. With support from well-meaning individuals, they hope to do this monthly.

As regards, our topic “The need for Christians to communicate their ideas and beliefs, while respecting the freedom of others”, the students came up with another initiative. They agreed it was important to get a popular cinema in their locality to do a proper rating of the movies they show their audience. Some of them had had an unpleasant experience in this regard—they had gone to see a movie which was rated PG-13 in the cinema, but were surprised to find many indecent scenes and nuances in the film. They therefore made calls to the box office of the cinema, narrating their experience and requesting a proper rating of their films. A couple of weeks later, the posters of the film were noticed to have a more proper rating- R 18. They plan to follow this up on a larger scale, with the Nigerian Film and Censors Board.

Finally, in also in line with the UNIV topic for the year, the students organized a seminar on the 12th of September for university students titled ‘CONTRACEPTION: WHY NOT?’
It was an attempt at a detailed critical analysis of a practice which is becoming more prevalent in our society and which has implications and consequences, for family life. The seminar was attended by 40 young women in all. They hope to organize a series of the same seminar over the coming months.

UNIV in the Phillipines

2010-02-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

UNIV 2010 Launch in the Phillipines

Since last fall university students in the Phillipines have been preparing for UNIV with events ranging from practical workshops on public speaking and writing a research paper to hearing personal testimony in the Initiators of Change lecture series.

From Radical Activist to Literary Convert

2010-01-30T01:34:00.000-08:00

Joseph Pearce will be keynote speaker at the 2010 UNIV International Congress.

Twenty-five years ago Joseph Pearce was a radical activist, a skinhead, and the editor of two hate-filled, extremist magazines, which led him twice to jail. Joseph Pearce converted to the Catholic faith in 1989 as a result of “becoming friends” with several 20th-century literary figures he researched who had been Christians, and ultimately converts to Catholicism – particularly G.K. Chesterton.

Today, Joseph Pearce is the author of a number of critically acclaimed, best-selling biographies of great 19th and 20th-century Christian authors such as Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton; Tolkien: Man and Myth; Literary Converts; C.S. Lewis & the Catholic Church; The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde; and most recently, The Quest for Shakespeare.

He is also the co-founder and co-editor of an international magazine dedicated to reclaiming Catholic culture (Saint Austin Review), and is writer-in-residence and associate professor of literature at Ave Maria University in Florida. He is also Series Editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions and Editor-In-Chief of Sapientia Press. He is considered one of the greatest specialists in contemporary literature, and is a highly regarded and best-selling literary writer and teacher.

Professor Pearce has described himself as a “cultural apologist, one who desires to win converts through the communicating power of culture” and he often speaks on the power of culture and beauty to transmit the truth.

On Tuesday, March 30th, at the Teatro Quirino in Rome, venue for the upcoming UNIV International Congress, Professor Pearce will speak to us about literature as one of the aspects of culture which fosters and facilitates man’s development, self-knowledge and happiness, using as examples Tolkien, Chesterton, Lewis and others, who, through their work, manifest how a Christian vision empowers a person’s development as such.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 31st, after the roundtable discussions, he will share with us his personal testimony, an incredible journey of conversion.

Culture of Freedom

2009-12-29T08:48:00.000-08:00

“Are there universal principles?”

“Why do we have human rights?”

“Is freedom an essential ingredient in any culture?”

These are some of the questions students of the University of Toronto (Canada) discussed in the kick-off event on September 28 exploring this year’s UNIV theme: Can Christianity Inspire a Global Culture?

The Current Affairs Exchange (CAFEX) Forum hosted Marina Nemat, fellow at the University of Toronto’s Massey College and author of the international bestseller Prisoner of Tehran, to share her experience as a political prisoner at the age of sixteen in Tehran, Iran. She spoke of the degrading effects of imprisonment and torture, the brain-washing tactics of a totalitarian state, and the way she overcame them.

Forgiveness played an essential role in Nemat’s life after her imprisonment, helping her to transform her experience into an impetus to work for the good of society, promoting forgiveness and freedom of expression. In fact, in 2007, she received the inaugural Human Dignity Award from the European Parliament, and she is currently working on a project about the effects of torture on children.

At the core of her presentation, Nemat emphasized the inviolable freedom of the human person, and the consequent responsibility to use that freedom for the good, as key in understanding ourselves as members of a global community.

UNIV doesn't stop

2009-12-07T02:48:00.000-08:00

UNIV doesn’t stop: All throughout the year there are activities to prepare for UNIV in different countries around the world. In Chile, a group of university students have been meeting since August to prepare for the local congress to take place in November. They discussed the characteristics of UNIV and the goals of the entire Easter Conference in Rome.

Those who weren’t familiar with the UNIV congress learned how to put together and present a project. And through sharing experiences, each team of university students got involved in developing different themes to present in their local congress.

UNIV 2010 Procedure

2009-11-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

To simplify things, this year the registration form for UNIV projects is to be turned in at the same time as the project itself is sent (and not weeks ahead of time as previously done).

The deadline to turn in a project for UNIV is Saturday, February 20, 2010, though we will receive any starting now.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us. And ask us for the registration form if you don't already have it.

Criteria and Suggestions for UNIV 2010 Projects

2009-11-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

It is not hard to prepare a project for the 2010 UNIV Congress, especially when you see it as an opportunity to put your talents and ideas to good use by suggesting and/or carrying out an initiative for the improvement and progress of our society.

First, you need to propose a topic or present a question related to this year’s theme, Can Christianity Inspire a Global Culture? Once you have an objective, then you can choose a specific focus and methodology. These initial choices will mostly depend on who your team is and where your interests lie. From the combination of these three elements—objective, methodology and team members—there arise many opportunities for a presentation: it could be something abstract or practical, something very focused or more general, seen from the perspective of a particular field or having a multidisciplinary angle, something theoretical or the concrete result of an experiment, etc. We encourage you to work as a team, giving due emphasis to dialogue and coming to a common understanding among each of your team member’s ideas when it comes down to writing and presenting your paper.

With the hope that many UNIV participants will be able to share their thoughts and experiences during the Congress in Rome, this year we will include as part of the congress a number of roundtable discussions, bringing together participants who have pursued similar topics and share common interests. The papers and presentations you prepare will be presented within the framework of these roundtables, which will allow for follow-up and discussion. This roundtable setting will also allow for a greater number of papers to be selected for presentation during the Congress in Rome. Our hope is to create grounds for dialogue and exchange among university students coming from varied circumstances and experiences to allow for a true university environment-- one that is optimistic, creative and full of initiative.

With these things in mind, we suggest the following for your presentations:

1. Make sure your project arises from a concrete reality, for example, some aspect of culture of particular interest to you. It is good to include each one’s personal reflections and how they contrast with those of the rest of the team. Make sure your topic is not purely theoretical (i.e. far from the reality we experience on a day-to-day basis), although at the same time, it is helpful to have recourse to some bibliography that helps you solidify your ideas, as well as to seek advice and guidance from other individuals who have experience and knowledge on the subject.

2. Approach your topic in a positive, constructive way, not limiting yourself to giving a diagnosis or criticizing some aspect of culture, but proposing suggestions or sharing experiences of how to improve and move forward.

3. The content of your topic should have a good foundation which will be reflected in a systematic development of your topic as well as in a thorough analysis of your results. If your paper describes an activity that took place over a certain period of time, it would be best to discuss it in a chronological, systematic manner: starting with the initial ideas and questions presented, to the way the activity evolved and was carried out, and finally to the conclusions and deductions that came from it.

4. The quality and intellectual rigor of your work should be reflected in the tone of respect characteristic to any international congress in which students participate from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. It is good to keep in mind that you will be presenting to a wide-ranging audience-- not to specialists on your topic or field—in order to avoid using colloquial phrases or other jargon that not everyone might understand.

Formal Criteria for Presentations…

a) Papers:

1) Papers may be presented in Italian, English or Spanish.

2) We suggest the following outline for your papers:
• Introduction (pose the initial question or problem)
• Methodology (for example: a bibliographic search, survey analysis, etc.)
• Results (analyze your results)
• Conclusion (looking at the results you’ve obtained, what do they tell us? How does this relate to and/or answer the initial question posed?)
• Proposal (What do we propose, in light of this study, that could have a positive impact on our society?)
• Bibliography (bibliographical references for any work cited or used for research in your study)

3) Papers should be submitted either in printed format (by mail) or in electronic format (by email) and should not exceed 10 standard-sized pages (A4; 8 ½ x 11 in.).

4) Along with your paper you should submit an abstract or summary of no more than 10 lines, in which you outline your paper briefly and clearly, summarizing your 5 points: Introduction, Methodology, Results, Conclusion and Proposal.

5) If your paper is selected to be presented during the Congress, you will need to submit a summarized version of the same that does not exceed 3 standard-size pages. If you will present your paper using a PowerPoint presentation, it should not exceed 20 slides. Each presentation will be allotted 10 minutes.

6) It is very important to cite any references or quotes used in your presentation, providing complete and formal bibliographical citation, with the same format maintained throughout. Samples of bibliographical citations are as follows:

i) Books:
Glendon, M.A. A Nation Under Lawyers: How the Crisis in the Legal Profession is Transforming American Society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994, p. 40.

ii) Articles:
Benson, I. “Notes Towards a (Re)Definition of the ‘Secular.’” U.B.C. Law Review 33 (2000): pp. 519-528.

iii) Magisterial Documents of the Church:
Vatican Council II. Apost. Const. Gaudium et Spes, 22.

iv) Internet: Follow the same indications given for a book, article, or Magisterial Document, placing the website at the end in the following manner:
Available at: http://www/....

b) Videos:

1) Each presentation during the Congress will be limited to 10 minutes.

2) If you are submitting a video, it should be accompanied by a written text explaining the following:
• Objective
• Content
• Conclusion

3) The image and sound should be of good quality.

c) Poster:

1) Posters may be presented in Italian, English or Spanish.

2) A poster is a way of presenting your work in an academic way, and its content is in no way less valuable than that of a paper. It is good to think over the key components of a poster, as they are not the same as those of a paper or a video. A poster should not have an excess of information, but just the right amount to transmit a concrete message attractively. Everything in your poster says something, so it is important to think about how and where to place things (including the size, color and symbolism) in light of what you want to transmit.

3) The content of your poster should be submitted electronically (via email or mailing a disk). If your poster is chosen to be presented at the Congress, you should submit the final version electronically and bring the printed version with you.

4) Along with your poster, you should submit an abstract or summary of no more than 10 lines, in which you outline your topic briefly and clearly, summarizing your 5 points: Introduction, Methodology, Results, Conclusion and Proposal.

5) Dimensions: height: 49.5 in. (100 cm.); width: 27.5 in (70 cm.)

6) Your poster should include a title, the names of those who prepared it, the name of your University, city and country. All text should be legible from 6 feet (2 meters) away.

7) You should provide a complete and well-cited bibliography (see sample citations above).

Can Christianity Inspire a Global Culture?

2009-10-02T03:12:00.000-07:00

Culture is an old concept related to “cultivation.” To cultivate is an action always carried out in reference to something else, thus illustrating the essential function of culture: to serve as a foundation favorable to man in order for him to grow and perfect his humanity. Culture is the proper channel through which the human person becomes most truly and most fully human. We, therefore, cannot consider culture as the task of an individual. It corresponds to the whole of society to help those who make it up grow into fully-flourishing human beings.

“The word ‘culture’ in its general sense indicates everything whereby man develops and perfects his many bodily and spiritual qualities; he strives by his knowledge and his labor to bring the world itself under his control. He renders social life more human (…); throughout the course of time he expresses, communicates and conserves in his works, great spiritual experiences and desires, that they might be of advantage to the progress of many, even of the whole human family.” (Gaudium et Spes, no.53). Throughout history and across the whole world, human culture has continued to adopt different ways of being. In this sense we can speak of a plurality of cultures. In principle, each culture preserves and develops a patrimony—both material and spiritual—which is shared by a community. Each culture has its own vision of God, of man, the world, life, society, the family, etc. Also forming part of a culture is the collection of common knowledge, customs and technical skills, as well as external manifestations of the people’s thinking, being and living: art, music, literature, architecture, etc. A culture combines both tradition and progress; it preserves the memory of time past while reaching towards the future.

In every culture we find both its particular richness and grandeur as well as its deficiencies and limitations. Therefore, the more a culture is able to fulfill its function of cultivating, or perfecting the human person, the better it is. We can look at the various dimensions of the human person as criteria to evaluate a cultural context: for example, how a culture perceives human reason in all its capacity to reach the truth about the world and a genuine understanding of man. A practical demonstration of this would be the harmony between scientific inquiry and a corresponding concern for formation in the humanities within all fields and occupations. Or, by looking at the will, we can examine the fundamental values of man: work, solidarity, justice; as well as the place love occupies in man’s view of society and whether it spurs on legislation that is in accord with human rights and with the family. Lastly, we can look at man’s affective dimension, which has a great role to contribute in his interpersonal relationships and his personal maturity, so long as he recognizes his affectivity as a reality integrated into the totality of his person. This proper understanding of affectivity is evident in the dignity of man’s artistic representations, his proper sense of beauty, in the development of creativity, including in expressions of the liturgy of the Church.

Christianity does not make reference to any concrete culture because its origin, end, message and essential values do not stem from the work of man. It would be better characterized—at this level—as an operative principle which can shape different cultures. Throughout history we find that Christianity has inspired diverse cultural manifestations, for example, in the Roman Empire, in the Celtic world, or in the colonization of America. Christianity and culture are constantly in dialogue and in mutual need of one another. Christianity is embodied in various cultural forms, and these are consolidated and flourish as a result. But we should keep in mind that Christianity and culture are realities that exist at different levels. We do not speak of a “Christian culture” as such, although we can say that a certain culture is more Christian when its people live, think and conduct themselves in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ. “Thus the first and most important task is accomplished within man's heart. The way in which he is involved in building his own future depends on the understanding he has of himself and of his own destiny.” (Centesimus Annus, no.51). The fact that Christianity is not at the same level and identifiable with culture makes possible the coexistence of different solutions, rooted in Christian principles, to the challenges which the world and society face today.

This year the UNIV Congress proposes to evaluate Christianity’s influence on culture. Concretely:

• how Christianity contributes to the cultivation of the human person and the development
of societies, and
• how Christianity can inspire the renewal and ennobling of all cultures as well as the interactions between them resulting from globalization.

In order to approach this topic with realism, the ideas we propose, rather than looking back to “a better past,” should project forward to the future with intelligence, audacity and great creativity.

Suggestions of Topics for Study

2009-10-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

a) Tracing the history of a relationship: Christianity and history of art; Christianity and scientific progress; Christianity and the humanities; Christianity and human rights, etc.

b) Analysis of a concept or worldview considered as a value of contemporary society in light of Christianity and of other religions. Examples: beauty, the good, freedom, tolerance, peace, equality, social justice, etc.

c) Reflection on a concrete aspect of society today: fashion, art, leisure, travel, lifestyle, scientific research, economics, politics, means of communication, advertising, etc. Use as a starting point a Christian understanding of man (with all his dimensions—reason, will, body, affectivity) and Christian principles in general.

d) The culture of work: individualism or a service to society?

e) Topics of current interest which call for a more human society:
1. Immigration, marginalization and social discrimination.
2. Military conflicts. Peace and the defense of the rights of peoples and individuals.
3. The economic crisis, unemployment, poverty.
4. Culture of life and respect for the dignity of the person.
5. Ecology and the exploitation of natural resources.

f) Intercultural dialogue: in search of an authentic humanism. Christianity as the driving force for dialogue and overcoming obstacles. Globalization and Christianity.

g) Inculturation of Christianity in recently evangelized nations.

Something to read...

2009-10-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Basic notions of culture
- Thomas Stearns Eliot, Notes Towards a Definition of Culture.
- Alejandro Llano, “¿De qué hablamos cuando hablamos de cultura?”
- Joseph Ratzinger, “Fe, Verdad y Cultura.” (Lecture given on February 16, 2000, in Madrid, Spain)
- Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes (1965). (Sections two and three speak about culture.)
- Address of the Holy Father John Paul II to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO (2-VI-1980).
- Address of the Holy Father John Paul II to the assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture (18-III-1994).
- Joseph Ratzinger, "The Crisis of Cultures."
- Benedict XVI, Encyclical Caritas in veritate (VII-2009). (No. 26 speaks explicitly about culture, but the whole encyclical sheds light on the topic.)

Discussions on culture
- Alejandro Llano, “Lo que aportan las Humanidades.”
- Robert Spaemann, “Para qué sirven los filósofos.” (Interview published in Nuestro Tiempo No.564, June 2001, pp.47-51)
- Alfonso Aguiló, “Cultura y formación.”
- C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters. (The first letter is about reading.)

Analysis of some aspect of culture (looking at its relationship with Christianity):

Globalization, economy and solidarity
-Alejandro Llano, “La otra cara de la globalización.”
-Giovanni Mottini, “L’etica dello sviluppo.”
-Umberto Farri, “Capacità d'ascolto e processo decisionale nei programmi di sviluppo.”

Religion and secularism
-R. Guardini, “La religione, dimensione essenziale della cultura e fondamento della libertà.”
-John Haldane, “Pluralismo superficial.” (Interview in Aceprensa 122/05)

Art, communication and beauty
-Rodríguez Luño, “Comunicar las propias convicciones.”
-Joseph Ratzinger, “The feeling of things, the contemplation of beauty.” (Message to the Communion and Liberation meeting at Rimini, August 2002)
-Benedict XVI, “New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship.” (Message of the Holy Father for the 43rd World Day of Communications, May 24, 2009)
-Diego Contreras and Enrique Fuster, “Una cristiana en la corte de Hollywood. Entrevista con Barbara Nicolosi.”
-Alejandro Llano, “La hora de la sociedad de la Inteligencia.”
-John Paul Wauck, “Christianity and the Poetics of Ordinary Life.”

Technology and science
-Jacques Arsac et al., “Towards An Open-Minded Science” (English translation of an article in French that appeared in Le Monde on February 23, 2006)
-Dr. Francis Collins, “Collins: Why this scientist believes in God.”

Politics and pluralism
-Ramiro Pellitero, “Los jóvenes y la política.”
-Ángel Rodríguez Luño, “Laicidad y pluralismo.”
-Javier Aranguren, “Democracia y relativismo.”

Lifestyle
-Julián Marías, “La Moralidad Colectiva.”
-Alejandro Llano, “Trabajo y libertad.”

Suggestions for a few activities in preparation for UNIV 2010

2009-10-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

1. Seminars to discuss well-known thinkers, artists, politicians and writers who have given us, in their works, a valuable testimony of Christian values: the universality of Christianity, a life coherent with one’s faith, the relationship between faith and culture, etc.

2. Testimonies: Invite people who can give living witness of a coherent Christian life in an environment where the culture opposes Christian views, or of how Christianity is able to take root in very diverse cultures.

3. Book club and film forum: Select a variety of novels, poems, plays or films that reflect Christian values. Examine the role of fiction in transmitting Christianity.

4. Practical workshops on effectively influencing culture. Topic example: the art of public speaking—improving the way we transmit our own ideas or how we approach our various ways of communicating (conversations, writing a paper, delivering a presentation, debate, etc.).

5. Read and discuss a selection of texts from the recommended bibliography to expand and deepen one’s understanding of Christianity and culture and their various aspects.

6. Cultural or social projects: Study or take part in a project being carried out by an institution or NGO inspired by Christian values, and which has influence over fashion, art, architecture, or the humanities, with the aim of contributing to the development of the human person through volunteer work in society.

7. Legislation: Research and analyze a Christian principle in the social or political order and its application in specific laws. Draft a policy proposal.

8. Lectures series. The “suggestions of topics for study” could serve as a reference. An interesting approach could be to find a common thread that unites the lecture topics according to geography (a country, a region, a continent), theme (one of the many aspects of culture), academics (choosing an area of interest, or a field of knowledge), etc.