THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL CONCERNS

The Institute for Social Concerns is the University of Notre Dame’s scholarly home for interdisciplinary responses to questions of justice. Committed to the normative proposition that a just world is a beautiful world, we engage the most urgent signs of the times through justice education, research for the common good, and collaborations with community.

JUSTICE
EDUCATION

Our approach to justice education develops students’ moral imagination, practical wisdom, and courage to act through academically rigorous coursework, immersive experiences, and critical reflection grounded in Catholic social tradition.

RESEARCH FOR
THE COMMON GOOD

Our approach to research focuses on the world’s most pressing social concerns and develops innovative, interdisciplinary, scholarly approaches to understand and address them.

COLLABORATIONS
WITH COMMUNITY

Our approach to community incubates democratic collaborations between community members and Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students that catalyze evidence-based sustainable interventions to local challenges.

INSTITUTE STORIES

Announcing the Justice & Society Minor

The Justice & Society Minor bridges the gap between classical theoretical inquiry and contemporary practical application.

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Megan Levis Scheirer on Catholic social teaching in a digital age

As an engineer housed at the Institute for Social Concerns, Megan Levis Scheirer is bringing Catholic social teaching to bear on digital technology.

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Bringing creative writing workshops into county jail

In partnership with the Department of English, the Institute for Social Concerns coordinated two six-week series of workshops, one for women and one for men—the first time Notre Dame has offered such programming in the county jail.

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