Michael Lamb on Hope & Character

Meet the Faculty: Suzanne Shanahan

Suzanne Shanahan is Leo and Arlene Hawk Executive Director and Professor of the Practice at Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns Shanahan’s research focuses on understanding the refugee experience in East Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia with special attention to how displaced persons construct moral boundaries around what is right, just, and fair. Her current research also examines the causes and consequences of domestic child sex trafficking for children and families in the United States. Shanahan Director of the Virtues & Vocations Initiative—a national forum seeking to cultivate character, purpose and meaning in pre-professional and professional education. She has a BA from Johns Hopkins and a Ph.D. from Stanford.

Meet the Speaker: Michael Lamb

Michael Lamb is the F. M. Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character, Executive Director of the Program for Leadership and Character, and Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities at Wake Forest University. Michael’s research focuses on the ethics of citizenship and the role of virtues in public life. His book, A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine’s Political Thought (Princeton University Press, 2022), offers a novel interpretation of Augustine’s political thought and recovers his virtue of hope to inform contemporary politics. The live conversation will include time for audience questions.

A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine's Political Thought

When it comes to politics, Augustine of Hippo is renowned as one of history’s great pessimists, with his sights set firmly on the heavenly city rather than the public square. Many have enlisted him to chasten political hopes, highlighting the realities of evil and encouraging citizens instead to cast their hopes on heaven. A Commonwealth of Hope challenges prevailing interpretations of Augustinian pessimism, offering a new vision of his political thought that can also help today’s citizens sustain hope in the face of despair.

Commencing Character: A Case Study of Character Development in College

In the last century, higher education has witnessed a shift away from explicit character education. Although scholarship has recently reemerged on the importance of character in college, there are almost no empirical investigations of courses intentionally designed to impact student character at the college level. The current study examines an innovative course intervention called ‘Commencing Character’ designed to intentionally teach 16 target virtues through direct instruction, application of seven research-based strategies of character development, and engagement with over 40 commencement addresses focused on character.

Journal Article: Michael Lamb, Elise M. Dykhuis, Sara E. Mendonça, and Eranda Jayawickreme, “Commencing Character: A Case Study of Character Development in College,” Journal of Moral Education, 51, no. 2 (2022): 238–260.

Cultivating Virtue in the University

Across the globe, educators are grappling with how best to prepare a new generation to engage the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Along with knowledge and skills, many are now emphasizing the importance of character. Yet, while there has been a robust movement to educate character among children and adolescents, much less attention has been given to the ethical formation of college and university students. What is the role of colleges and universities in educating the character of students? Should universities even attempt to cultivate virtue? If so, how can they do so effectively in a pluralistic context?

Cultivating Virtue in the University, Edited by Jonathan Brant, Edward Brooks, and Michael Lamb (Oxford University Press, 2022)

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Monday, January 30, 2023 12:00 pm

As part of the Virtues & Vocations webinar series, Education for Flourishing: Pursuing Purpose in the Professions, we are pleased to welcome Michael Lamb to discuss Hope & Character.

Speaker:

Michael Lamb is the F. M. Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character, Executive Director of the Program for Leadership and Character, and Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities at Wake Forest University. Michael’s research focuses on the ethics of citizenship and the role of virtues in public life. His book, A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine’s Political Thought (Princeton University Press, 2022), offers a novel interpretation of Augustine’s political thought and recovers his virtue of hope to inform contemporary politics.

For more information, please visit the series website on ThinkND.