The Killeen Chair of Theology and Philosophy Lecture Series

Community and Technology
Technological advances have linked us to one another and enabled nonstop global communication in ways that were impossible to imagine just a few decades ago. Through the devices we carry with us at all times, our ability to connect and to form digital identities and communities seems limitless. This technology brings with it great potential for engagement, cooperation, and enrichment, but paradoxically, it also leads to detachment, disrespect, and inauthenticity. The effects of this continuous, largely anonymous connectivity have profound theological and philosophical implications: What does it mean to create community and identity in this current context? How do we sustain personal and communal integrity? What new moral and ethical obligations and risks do we face? Join the Killeen Chair of Theology and Philosophy as we explore these and other questions with leading thinkers.

All events are free and open to the public. Registration for these events is not required.

2018-19 Killeen Chair Lecture Series
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 7 p.m. Byron L. Walter Theatre, Abbott Pennings Hall of Fine Arts	“Our Love-Affair with Technology: Some (Inconvenient) Truths” Carol Bruess, Ph.D. Professor Emerita University of St. Thomas, MN St. Norbert College Alumnus '90 View a recording of this lecture.
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018 7 p.m.  Fort Howard Theater, Bemis International Center	“On Virtuous and Virtual Communities: Civic Flourishing in the Digital Age” Shannon Vallor, Ph.D. Regis and Dianne McKenna Professor, Department of Philosophy Santa Clara University
Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019 7 p.m.  Fort Howard Theater, Bemis International Center	“The Myth of the Global Village: How Technology Divides Us” Nicholas Carr New York Times Bestselling Author
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 7 p.m. Fort Howard Theater, Bemis International Center	“Artificial Intelligence and Human Desire: Can a Robot Truly Love?” Sister Ilia Delio, O.S.F. Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology Villanova University