Forbes Avenue Foundation

GENEALOGIES OF MODERNITY PODCAST [THE GENEALOGIES OF MODERNITY PODCAST AIMS TO SHOW HOW CERTAIN UNDERSTANDINGS OF WHAT MODERNITY IS AND HOW IT CAME ABOUT HAVE SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WORLD WE INHABIT. THE PODCAST WILL BRING TO LIFE ACADEMIC DEBATES OVER THE MEANING AND ORIGINS OF MODERNITY IN VIVID STORIES FROM ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, EARLY MODERN, AND RECENT HISTORY. EACH EPISODE FOCUSES ON A SET OF ?MODERNITY MOMENTS?--PASSAGES IN HISTORY THOUGHT TO INAUGURATE A NEW AGE. IN TELLING THE STORIES OF THESE MODERNITY MOMENTS THROUGH THE PERSPECTIVES OF MULTIPLE HUMANITIES DISCIPLINES, EACH EPISODE EXPLORES HOW THE HUMANITIES SHAPE COMMON AND LESSER KNOWN CONCEPTIONS OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MODERN. THIS PODCAST DRAWS ON FIVE HUMANITIES DISCIPLINES IN ORDER TO RECOGNIZE, EVALUATE, AND LEARN FROM THE NARRATIVES OF MODERNITY THAT EXPLICITLY OR IMPLICITLY SHAPE THE WAYS WE UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT: HISTORY; LITERARY AND MEDIA STUDIES; ART HISTORY; PHILOSOPHY; THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES.]

PUBLIC EVENTS SERIES [IN ADDITION TO ITS CORE WORK THROUGH AND ON BEHALF OF FACULTY AND STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AND CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, BEATRICE INSTITUTE CREATES PUBLIC HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING FOR NON-ACADEMIC AUDIENCES IN LIVE EVENTS AROUND PITTSBURGH. AN INDEPENDENT CHAIRMAN?S GRANT WOULD SUPPORT OUR 2025-26 SERIES OF PUBLIC EVENTS, HIGHLIGHTING THE RESOURCES OF THE CHRISTIAN CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS FOR MAKING MEANINGFUL LIVES.]

CHRISTIAN STUDIES FELLOWS PROGRAM [THIS GRANT WILL CONTRIBUTE A SUITE OF UNDERGRADUATE SEMINARS THAT INTRODUCE THE CHRISTIAN SOURCES OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDERS? VISION OF ?LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.? THESE SEMINARS WILL FORM PART OF OUR CHRISTIAN STUDIES FELLOWS PROGRAM, WHICH HAS 53 MOTIVATED STUDENTS COMMITTED FOR THE 2025?26 ACADEMIC YEAR. IN THIS PROVEN MODEL, EACH SEMINAR MEETS EVERY TWO WEEKS, OVER DINNER, FOR A TOTAL OF SIX SESSIONS PER SEMESTER. THEY WILL BE DESIGNED BY ME, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE, AND TAUGHT IN COLLABORATION WITH BEATRICE INSTITUTE FACULTY FELLOWS FROM AREA UNIVERSITIES.]