Ines Angeli Murzaku, Ph.D. will Deliver a Keynote Address at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw  

Ines Angeli Murzaku, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Catholic Studies Program will deliver the keynote address at a conference entitled: Generative Anthropology and Transdisciplinary Inquiry: Religion, Science, Language, Culture at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw, Poland, from June 21 to June 23, 2018. The conference organized by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, one of the leading Catholic institutions of higher education in Poland. The Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, named after the Primate of Poland and Cardinal-Archbishop of Warsaw, is one of the youngest universities in Poland and continues a long standing academic tradition in Catholic theology and history, finding its roots at the University of Warsaw. The Academy of Catholic Theology, which is part of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, received ecclesiastical powers in 1989 (by a decree of the Vatican Congregation) and since then it had been both a state-owned and an ecclesiastical institution.

The international-interdisciplinary conference will bring together an international team of experts, scholars, church leaders and students from various religious traditions in Europe. Professor Murzaku's keynote address is entitled: Cor ad Cor Loquitur with the University: Inter-disciplinary Nature of Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University. The keynote address will focus on the interdisciplinary nature of Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University and the value of interdisciplinarity not only for its immediate benefits to students which makes them think critically using the tools of various disciplines, but also for keeping the door open to diverse career paths. "Catholic Studies Program at Seton Hall University has proven to be a perfect introduction to the team-based approach which has become common in the industry, a career direction that many students at Seton Hall eventually take… At Seton Hall University, Catholic Studies has proven to be a vital academic program over two decades, one with wide and deep interest among students and faculty from varied intellectual disciples, backgrounds and career interests, with a broad outreach to the local community in lectures, workshops, and symposia, for a sustained exploration of the implications of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, with international study abroad opportunities, with student life, with collaborative programs with schools and colleges of the university, including joint degree programs. In this work, Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University has, in significant ways, served as a catalyst on campus for the renewal of the university's Catholic identity and mission" will state Professor Murzaku in her key-note address.

Ines Angeli Murzaku earned a doctorate from the Pontifical Oriental Institute, Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and has held visiting positions at the Universities of Bologna and Calabria in Italy and University of Münster in Germany. She has won grants including Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Grant (SSHRC); and Fulbright Specialist.

Dr. Murzaku is currently writing a book entitled Mother Teresa, The Saint of the Peripheries who Became Catholicism's Center Piece to be published by Paulist Press in December 2018. Dr. Murzaku's research has been published in multiple articles and seven authored or co-authored books including: Life of St Neilos of Rossano (1004) (Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University Press 2017); Italo-Greek Monasticism from St Neilos to Bessarion (Ashagte 2017); Monasticism in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics (Routledge 2016); Monastic Tradition in Eastern Christianity and the Outside World a Call for Dialogue (Peeters University of Leuven 2013); Returning Home to Rome? The Monks of Grottaferrata in Albania (Analekta Kryptopherres 2009); Quo Vadis Eastern Europe? Religion, State and Society after Communism (Longo University of Bologna 2009); and Catholicism, Culture and Conversion: The History of the Jesuits in Albania (1841-1946) (Orientalia Christiana Analecta, Pontifical Oriental Institute 2006). Professor Murzaku was the vice-president of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) and a United Nations accredited representative for the organization Christians Associated for Relationships with Eastern Europe. She is a regular commentator to media outlets on religious matters. She has worked for or collaborated with the Associated Press, CNN, Voice of America, Relevant Radio, The Catholic Thing, Crux – Taking the Catholic Pulse, Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation (Canada), The Record, The Stream, Radio Tirana (Albania), Vatican Radio (Vatican City), and EWTN (Rome).

About Catholic Studies: 
The Catholic Studies Program at Seton Hall University offers an innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum for students of any creed who are interested in deepening their knowledge of Catholicism's rich intellectual tradition and living heritage. Combining the study of history, philosophy, theology, literature, art, sociology, and other disciplines, Catholic Studies focuses on the church's dialogue with culture and encounter with the world. Students interested in Catholic Studies have the option to pursue a major, minor, or certificate that complements and enhances the University's other degree programs and fields of study.