2021: I Have Called You by Name
'I Have Called You by Name': Human Dignity in a Secular World
Fall Conference | November 11–13, 2021 | University of Notre Dame
The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture is pleased to announce its 21st annual Fall Conference, “I Have Called You by Name: Human Dignity in a Secular World,” November 11–13, 2021, in person at the University of Notre Dame.
What do we mean by “human dignity”? What are its foundations, contours, and entailments? Is a unified understanding of human dignity possible in a fragmented secular culture? Is a just society possible without it? This interdisciplinary, three-day event will engage the theme of human dignity from a variety of points of departure in more than 100 presentations, with keynotes by Mary Ann Glendon (Harvard Law School), Alasdair MacIntyre (de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture), Jacqueline Rivers (Harvard University), Elizabeth Schiltz (University of St. Thomas), and many others.
A complete schedule and visitor information are available below. Questions or concerns? Email fallconference@nd.edu.
Registration
Registration has ended. Students, faculty, and staff of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's, and Holy Cross who did not register for the conference are welcome to attend all sessions, subject to seating limitations.
The plenary keynotes will be livestreamed on this page.
Fall Conference Mobile App
Download the free “Notre Dame Mobile” app to your smartphone (iPhone and Android) to have access to the updated conference agenda, presentation abstracts, campus map with walking directions, and more. Visit ethicscenter.nd.edu/fc-app on your phone’s browser to download, or go directly to your phone’s app store and search “Notre Dame Mobile.” Once you’ve installed the app, choose the “Guest” persona and find the “dCEC Fall Conference” icon.
Schedule
A detailed program may be found below (all locations are in the McKenna Hall Conference Center, unless otherwise noted):
| Thursday, November 11 | |
| 1:30-2:45 p.m. |
Colloquia Panels and abstract summaries linked here. Details subject to change. |
| 2:45-3:15 p.m. | Break |
| 3:15-4:30 p.m. |
Colloquia Panels and abstract summaries linked here. Details subject to change. |
| 5:15 p.m. | Opening Mass with Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades (Fort Wayne-South Bend) Basilica of the Sacred Heart |
| 8 p.m. |
Opening Keynote: "In Pursuit of Dignity and Freedom: One Perspective on the American Experience" |
| 9:15 p.m. | Opening Reception |
| Friday, November 12 | |
| 8 a.m. | Continental breakfast |
| 9-10:15 a.m. |
Colloquia Panels and abstract summaries linked here. Details subject to change. |
| 10:15-10:45 a.m. | Break |
| 10:45 a.m.-12 p.m. |
Colloquia Panels and abstract summaries linked here. Details subject to change. |
| 12-1:15 p.m. | Lunch South Dining Hall (West Wing) |
| 1:30-2:45 p.m. |
"Human Dignity: A Puzzling and Possibly Dangerous Idea?" |
| 2:45-3:15 p.m. | Break |
| 3:15-4:30 p.m. |
Invited Presentations 1. How to Read (and Write) Like a Catholic 2. Dignity and Human Rights: A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue Between Ethics and Law |
| 5:15 p.m. | Daily Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart |
| 6:30 p.m. | Dinner South Dining Hall (West Wing) |
| 8 p.m. |
Keynote: "The Utter Incoherence of the Vision of Human Dignity Underpinning Disability Law and Policy" |
| 9:15 p.m. | Reception |
| Saturday, November 13 | |
| 8 a.m. | Continental breakfast |
| 9-10:15 a.m. |
Colloquia Panels and abstract summaries linked here. Details subject to change. |
| 10:15-10:45 a.m. | Break |
| 10:45 a.m.-12 p.m. |
Colloquia Panels and abstract summaries linked here. Details subject to change. |
| 12-1:15 p.m. | Lunch South Dining Hall (West Wing) |
| 1:30-2:45 p.m. |
Invited Presentations 1. What Should It Mean for a Catholic University to Be 'Anti-Racist'? 2. The Dignity of the Saints 3. Equal Dignity: A Commitment in Search of a Rationale |
| 2:45-3:15 p.m. | Break |
| 3:15-4:30 p.m. |
Invited Presentations 1. The Dignity of the Sexed Body: Asymmetry, Equality, and Real Reproductive Justice 2. Losing Our Dignity: How Secularized Medicine Is Undermining Fundamental Human Equality |
| 5 p.m. | Vigil Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart |
| 6:30 p.m. | Dinner South Dining Hall (West Wing) |
| 8 p.m. |
Closing Keynote: "Dignity and Human Rights: The Problem of Foundations" |
| 9:15 p.m. | Closing Reception |
Visitor Information
University COVID-19 Protocols
The university has requested that conference guests, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks inside campus buildings, except when eating and drinking. Please visit covid.nd.edu for more information. Thank you for your patience as we navigate these protocols.
How to Get Around
The majority of the conference sessions will take place in the McKenna Hall Conference Center, located on the second floor of McKenna Hall (with select presentations on the lower “B” level).
Plenary keynote presentations will be held in the Morris Inn Ballroom, with the exception of Saturday evening (in Dahnke Ballroom in the Duncan Student Center), as indicated in the program. Please carefully note these locations on the campus map.
For visitors with mobility issues, golf carts will be available to offer courtesy rides between conference locations and meals. Please look for these carts outside the conference buildings, or ask a dCEC staff member or volunteer for assistance.
Transportation and Parking
Notre Dame is located in the Eastern time zone, 90 miles east of Chicago (Central time). Transportation to and from Notre Dame is available via South Bend International Airport, five miles from Notre Dame's campus; if you plan on flying into Chicago airports, please note that there is no longer a shuttle bus between the Chicago airports and South Bend. Additional transportation options include the South Shore Train Line and Greyhound Bus Line.
Visitor parking on campus is available by permit during regular business hours in the visitor lot, south of the stadium (please consult the campus map). Use the code WJZZ3HG at the visitor lot kiosk to waive the parking fee. No permit is required outside of regular business hours and on weekends, when parking is available in any of the open lots. A campus shuttle runs along Holy Cross Drive, next to the visitor lot, with a drop-off point at McKenna Hall.
Please note: Parking for our evening lectures on Thursday and Friday may be affected by the Notre Dame women’s basketball game (7 p.m. on Thursday, November 11, in the Joyce Center) and the men’s hockey game (7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 12, in the Compton Family Ice Arena). Flow of traffic and game-day parking near these locations may be affected beginning two hours prior to each event. Please consult the basketball and hockey game day traffic patterns before driving to campus for our evening lectures on Thursday and Friday.
Dining around Campus
Dining options are indicated on the campus map. Please note that student dining halls are not open to visitors at this time; other locations may be closed or have limited hours on Saturday. Check dining.nd.edu or the app for hours of service. On-campus eateries are making use of virtual ordering: All orders must be placed using the Grubhub app or via the Grubhub kiosks at the restaurant. Additional dining options are available in Eddy Street Commons, just south of campus. Consult the map for more details.
Lodging
A small block of hotel rooms is available at the Morris Inn on campus ($182/night). Reserve your room here, or call (800) 280-7256 and reference "Annual Ethics Conference" when booking. Additional lodging is available at a variety of hotels in the area immediately surrounding campus, including:
- Fairfield Inn (Eddy St. Commons)
- Embassy Suites (Eddy St. Commons)
- Inn at St. Mary's (Rte 933)
Dormitory-style lodging is available in the Sacred Heart Parish Center on campus ($30/night). Email Christina Maciejczyk (cmaciej1@nd.edu) and reference the de Nicola Center's Fall Conference for more information and to reserve a room (or block of rooms for a student group).
Past Conferences
Find information regarding past conferences and lecture videos at the links below.
- 2022: 'And It Was Very Good': On Creation
- 2021 (Fall): I Have Called You by Name
- 2021 (Winter): We Belong to Each Other
- 2019: I Have Called You Friends
- 2018: Higher Powers
- 2017: Through Every Human Heart
- 2016: You Are Beauty
- 2015: For Freedom Set Free
- 2014: Responding to the Cry of the Poor
- 2013: The Body and Human Identity
- 2012: Exploring the Many Facets of Justice
- 2011: Radical Emancipation
- 2010: Younger Than Sin
- 2009: The Summons of Freedom
- 2008: The Family
- 2007: Dialogue of Cultures
- 2006: Modernity
- 2005: Joy in the Truth
- 2004: Epiphanies of Beauty
- 2003: Formation and Renewal
- 2002: From Death to Life
- 2001: A Culture of Life
- 2000: A Culture of Death