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Seton Hall University

Inside the Core Celebrates First Season of CORECast  

We are very pleased to announce that CORECast has completed its first season of podcasts. As part of the implementation of Seeds of Innovation, CORECast, in which a professor and student discuss a particular Core text (from either Core I or Core II) for a half hour, has completed its first season. CORECast (i.e. Core Podcast) was proposed by Jon Radwan, Ph.D., and Ruth Tsuria, Ph.D., both faculty in the Department of Communication and the Arts, and Rabbi Allan Brill, Cooperman/Ross Endowed Chair for Jewish-Christian Studies. This initiative came out of Seton Hall's Institute for Communication and Religion and has been hosted through the ICR Podcasting Network. Next year, while Dr. Radwan is on sabbatical, Dr. Gloria Thurmond will chair the ICR academy. CORECast recently offered its third podcast, with more to come next year with at least eight episodes planned during a three-year period.

As Director of the Core and a faculty member teaching Core I, II, and III, I was very pleased to be part of the third CORECast, with English graduate student (and my former Core III student) Francis Hunter, speaking on the Core II text written by the third century martyr, Perpetua. As written about in an earlier Inside the Core, Francis and I are working on a book project consisting of his translation from the Latin original of Perpetua’s text, as well as the two slightly later Acta that amplify it, along with four scholarly essays to accompany the translations. In our CORECast experience, we found that alum Bernie Wagenblast, who conducts the interviews, does a wonderful job of creating a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere for faculty and student guests.

The Good Samaritan by Balthasar Cortbemde, 17th Century, Antwerp

The Good Samaritan by Balthasar Cortbemde, 17th Century, Antwerp

All three CORECast episodes are now available, and the following links will take you to them: 

The first focuses on the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke’s Gospel, required text in Core I: Journey of Transformation, with Dr. K. C. Choi (who was Core II Coordinator, now teaching at Princeton University) with Giselle Pineda, SHU alum, Biology and Catholic Studies double major. CORECast: Parable of the Good Samaritan | Institute for Communication and Religion (podbean.com)

PlatoThe second focuses on Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” a text in Core I: Journey of Transformation, with Dr. Gregory Floyd, Core Fellow, and Joseph Brennan, class of ’26, Diplomacy major. CORECast: Plato’s Allegory of the Cave | Institute for Communication and Religion (podbean.com)

perpetua and felicityThe third, mentioned above, focused on “The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity,” a text in Core II: Christianity and Culture in Dialogue, with Dr. Nancy Enright, Director of the University Core and English Professor, and Francis Hunter, current English graduate student at SHU and Latin teacher. CORECast: Perpetua | Institute for Communication and Religion (podbean.com)

CORECast podcasts are available on YouTube through the ICR Podcasting Network, which hosts the Institute for Communication and Religion Channel. As mentioned in an earlier article, CORECast extends the educational work of the Core beyond campus and, in turn, spreads the word about what Seton Hall is doing in the University Core, which remains a cornerstone of how the University delivers on its Catholic educational mission. Using an innovative strategy such as a podcast to explore texts that include some of the most ancient and iconic in our curriculum reminds me of a significant verse in Matthew 13:51: “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” As we use new technologies to explore classic texts, we are also bringing out of our treasure things new and old. It is exciting to be a part of this important endeavor.

Categories: Faith and Service