Christendom College will welcome political theorist Dr. Mary Keys to campus for the latest event in its Collegiate Lecture Series on Monday, October 5, at 7:00 p.m. in Old Chapel Hall. Keys, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, will speak on “Rhetoric and the Virtues of the Heart: On Augustine’s Political Thought,” exploring St. Augustine’s social and civic thought and the impact of his writings.
Drawing on Augustine’s The City of God and his scriptural commentaries, Keys will examine Augustine’s thoughts on rhetoric and the power and perils of persuasion. Her lecture will also consider the human heart and the relationship between its loves, virtues, and vices before concluding with an examination of Augustine’s influence on St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae.
Keys is a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, where her research focuses on political theory, particularly Christianity, ethics, and political thought. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston College and her master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Toronto.
An accomplished author and scholar, Keys is the author of two books published by Cambridge University Press, including Pride, Politics, and Humility in Augustine’s City of God, and has contributed widely to leading academic journals and volumes. She has received numerous fellowships, including a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, and has served as a visiting scholar or fellow at Princeton University, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago. Keys also teaches political theory through Holy Cross College’s Moreau College Initiative at Westville Correctional Facility in Indiana.
Christendom’s Collegiate Lecture Series provides students, faculty, staff, and members of the community with an opportunity to hear from regional and national speakers on topics relevant to Christendom’s mission of “Restoring All Things in Christ.” For students, especially, these events allow them to connect classroom learning with the broader ideas and questions posed by the speakers. The series also honors those who have pursued wisdom in their lives and share it generously with the Christendom community.
Keys’ lecture comes on the heels of the first Collegiate Lecture Series event of the fall, when Christendom welcomed leading biologist Dr. Daniel Kuebler for a lecture on human origins.
This event is open to the public. Parking for the event will be available at Christ the King Chapel on Shenandoah Shores Road (the first left when approaching the college).