Welcome to Nourishing Hope: A Signature Course

Welcome

This course responds to the Jesuits’ Universal Apostolic Preferences, which include a summons to “accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future.” The course explores the role of hope in human flourishing, including criticisms that it can forestall the good life, and assess why the Jesuits would prioritize hope across all their ministries—including Jesuit higher education. The course equips students to define their own understanding of hope in conversation with the Catholic tradition, to identify exemplars who can inspire hope in their own lives, and to build the practices that will sustain hope when reasons for hopelessness arise.

“Hope opens new horizons, making us capable of dreaming what is not even imaginable.”

– Pope Francis

Image of sun on a distant horizon, matching Pope Francis's metaphor for hope opening new horizons.

Meet your Professor

Conor M. Kelly, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at Marquette University.

Dr. Conor M. Kelly

Associate Professor
Theology Department (Theological Ethics)

Conor M. Kelly (Ph.D., Boston College, 2015) is a Catholic theological ethicist who works at the intersection of fundamental moral theology and applied ethics. In addition to ethical methodology, he specializes in sexual ethics, social ethics, and health care ethics. His research focuses on the process of moral discernment in ordinary life, on both the personal and social levels. Recent work includes articles in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, and The Tablet as well as forthcoming pieces in the Journal of Catholic Higher Education and Springer’s Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business and Management. Ongoing projects involve research into the nature and operation of structural sin, the theological significance of work and leisure, and ethical issues in public health.