Poverty and American National Priorities

Boisi event image

Eric Gregory, Princeton University
Susan Crawford Sullivan, College of the Holy Cross
William Julius Wilson, Harvard University
Moderated byÌýErik Owens,ÌýBoston College

Date:ÌýFebruary 26, 2013

Read Interview with Gregory

Read Interview with Sullivan

View Event Flyer

View Slides

Abstract

The Boisi Center convened three distinguished scholars from diverse perspectives to discuss the nature of poverty in the United States and the issue’s place (or lack thereof) among American national priorities.

Speaker Bios

Eric GregoryÌýis Professor of Religion at Princeton University. In 2012-2013, he is a Fellow at the Tikvah Center for Law and Jewish Civilization at New York University School of Law. He is the author ofÌýPolitics & The Order of Love: An Augustinian Ethic of Democratic CitizenshipÌý(Chicago 2008), and numerous articles related to his interests in ethics, theology, political theory, law, and the role of religion in public life. In 2007, he was awarded Princeton’s President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching. Among his current projects is a book tentatively titled,ÌýWhat Do We Owe Strangers? Globalization and the Good Samaritan, which examines secular and religious perspectives on global justice. A graduate of Harvard College, he earned an M.Phil. and Diploma in Theology from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and his doctorate in Religious Studies from Yale University.

Susan Crawford Sullivan

Susan Crawford SullivanÌýis an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Edward Bennett Williams Fellow at the College of the Holy Cross. Her research interests lie at the intersection of sociology of religion, family, and poverty and public policy. Her book,ÌýLiving Faith:Ìý Everyday Religion and Mothers in PovertyÌý(University of Chicago Press, 2011), won the 2012 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Distinguished Book Award and the 2012 American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Book Award from the sociology of religion section. Dr. Sullivan has published articles in journals suchÌýSociology of Religion;ÌýReview of Religious Research; Journal of Catholic Higher Education;Ìýand theÌýJournal of College Student Development.ÌýShe is current co-editing the volumeÌýA Vision of Justice: Engaging Catholic Social Teaching on the College CampusÌý(Liturgical Press, forthcoming). Since 2009, she has been an active member of the Peace and Justice National Advisory Committee of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. She received her Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and her Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University.Ìý

William Julius Wilson

William Julius WilsonÌýis the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor at Harvard University.Ìý He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Education and the Institute of Medicine. He is also past President of the American Sociological Association, and is a MacArthur Prize Fellow.Ìý In 1998 he was awarded the National Medal of Science.Ìý His books includeÌýPower, Racism and PrivilegeÌý(1973),ÌýThe Declining Significance of RaceÌý(1978),ÌýThe Truly DisadvantagedÌý(1987),ÌýWhen Work DisappearsÌý(1996),ÌýThe Bridge over the Racial DivideÌý(1999),ÌýThere Goes the NeighborhoodÌý(2006, co-author),ÌýGood Kids from Bad NeighborhoodsÌý(2006, co-author),Ìýand, most recently,ÌýMore than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner CityÌý(2009). He received a Ph.D. from Washington State University.

Event Photos

Boisi event

Boisi Center Associate Director Erik Owens moderates a panel on Poverty and American National Priorities featuring Eric Gregory (Princeton University), Susan Crawford Sullivan (College of the Holy Cross), and William Julius Wilson (Harvard University).

Boisi event

Eric Gregory discusses American national priorities.

Boisi event

Susan Crawford Sullivan discusses the role religion plays in the lives of single mothers living in poverty.

Boisi event

William Julius Wilson addresses ethnicity, race and poverty.

Boisi event

Erik Owens opens up the floor to questions and answers.