Essay

Slow Down

Today’s seemingly infinite proliferation of information and info sources is nearly overwhelming. The notion of “slow time” — to pause, reflect, integrate, then act — is a response. We asked David L. Ulin to stop and give slow time some thought.

Imagined L.A.: Brian Doyle on the City’s Past and Future

Brian Doyle says that of all literary forms the essay is “closest to the human voice at play; the most naked unadorned form, with none of the filters and often stilted self-indulgent vibe of the other forms; the essay is you and your friend having a pint and telling tales with glee and tears.” Doyle has never set foot in Los Angeles. But his song of this city, an original essay, describes a place we recognize.

The Interreligious Imperative

In a radio address given in September 1962 shortly before the Second Vatican Council opened, Pope John XXIII expressed the hope that the council would present the Church as “the Church of all, and especially of the poor.”

The Power and Promise of the Liberal Arts

What is the value of a liberal arts education? From the public to the press to the U.S. president, the quality of university education is a burning issue. The challenge can be seen in the falling numbers of liberal arts…

The Inaugural Address

The inauguration of a university president is a day like few others. Ritual signals the seriousness of academic study, and pageantry symbolizes the celebration of the event.

The Crises in Legal Education

American legal education faces three crises. The first is financial. For the past generation, the cost of a law school education has increased at twice the rate of the cost of living. As a result, tuition and fees at all…

Public Intellectualism and LMU’s Mission

As a young poet in Los Angeles, I was part of a motley cohort of Salvadoran exiles and Chicana/o activists that often railed against the “ivory tower” of academe, insisting that in times of crisis, the intellectual’s place is not…

Learning in Study Abroad

LMU’s new Casa de la Solidaridad program is an atypical education opportunity for students that combines innovative features of both community-based learning and study abroad programs. The result is an experience in transformational learning.