On October 5th & 6th, undergraduate students from across the country met at the University of Dallas to participate in The Good Life: An Undergraduate Conference in the Liberal Arts. Two Texas State students were selected to attend and present their research. Sabra Woodward, a junior, participated in a panel on “Order and the Spiritual,” presenting a paper entitled “A Bright Light in a Dark Age: King Alfred the Great’s Translation and Preface of ‘Pastoral Care’ by Gregory I”. Sabra noted that “our presentations went smoothly and we enjoyed learning from the 19 other presenters from around the country.” Woodward and Olszewski were the only students from a public college or university whose papers were accepted by the conference. Other schools represented included St. John’s College, Santa Fe, Baylor University, and Kenyon College. Evan Olszewski, also a junior, participated in a panel of “Law and Tradition,” delivering a paper on “The Role of Reputation in Authority in Ibsen’s The Pillars of Society.” “I was very surprised at just how professional and well-researched all the presentations were, and the engagement from the other students was amazing,” Evan observed. “There was a lot of personal interest in our papers, which was really encouraging.” The conference concluded with a keynote address entitled “Pietas” given by Dr. Susan Hanssen, Chair of the History Department, University of Dallas.
