Center for Catholic Studies to Host Faculty Summer Seminar with William T. Cavanaugh

The Center for Catholic Studies, in collaboration with the Center for Vocation and Servant Leadership and the G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture, will host the 2026 Faculty Summer Seminar with William T. Cavanaugh, Ph.D., of DePaul University. The seminar, titled "Modern Misenchantments: St. Augustine’s Wisdom for Challenging the Idols of Consumerism and Nationalism," will take place May 26, 27 and 28, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon each day in University Center, Room 206.

Open to Seton Hall faculty from all disciplines, the three-day seminar will draw on Cavanaugh’s book The Uses of Idolatry to explore Augustine’s account of desire, worship and idolatry, with particular attention to nationalism and consumerism as modern rival liturgies that shape our loves, our lives and what and how we learn. Across the three days, participants will consider Augustine, desire, worship and idolatry; nationalism; and consumerism, with continued attention to university life, teaching and student formation.

The Faculty Summer Seminar continues a longstanding Center for Catholic Studies commitment to interdisciplinary faculty formation rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Light breakfast will be available before each day’s session and lunch will follow the seminar.

Faculty may register here. 

Categories: Faith and Service