In the stories of how monks or nuns are called to Christian religious life, we find them driven by an intense desire for fulfilment or happiness, a happiness that ordinary life in the world seems unable to give.  Beginning from a couple of these stories, Hitz will inquire into this desire, both what it seeks and what it rejects.

Speaker

Zena Hitz is a tutor at St. John’s College and the author of "Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life." Her book explores the meaning and the value of learning for its own sake, through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional and historical. She spent three years living and working in the Madonna House Apostolate and has taught in prison programs and to other non-traditional students. When she is not teaching or speaking she spends time thinking about topics like the moral decline and fall of individuals and communities, as depicted in stories from "Genesis" to "The Godfather."

M.A. Alumni Achievement Award

We will present the Department of History VCU Graduate Alumni Achievement Award to Nathan Vernon Madison. This award recognizes an alum of the M.A. program who has made distinguished contributions to their profession or chosen field of endeavor. It represents the department’s highest form of recognition bestowed exclusively on graduate alumni.