• Seton Hall University

“Teaching Business Differently: the Role of the Humanities in Business Education”

Friday, October 31, 2025, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
University Center Event Lounge, (400 South Orange Avenue, South Orange, New Jersey)

Business Humanities is an emerging, multi-disciplinary field wherein practitioners seek to better integrate teaching, learning, and research in the humanities and business. The idea is that the separation of the humanities and business is artificial and detrimental and, correlatively, that studying the humanities and business together is vital for understanding and solving complex issues in business and society, helping to cultivate ethical, innovative and effective leaders, and creating business practices and cultures that better protect and promote human dignity, contribute to human flourishing, and serve the common good. Universities have long taken for granted that the liberal arts prepare students well for successful business careers, but they have not explicitly taught students how to apply what they learn in humanities courses to actual business issues. This conference and the Business Humanities program at Seton Hall directly address how to connect the two.

This conference invites scholars, teachers and professionals to learn about and examine this emerging field of study and share and discuss innovative ways in which the humanities can and perhaps ought to be used to teach students and professionals about business. Examples of may include, but are not limited to, teaching business through literature or film, using the humanities to promote moral awareness, cultural competence, and creativity and entrepreneurship, teaching students to “deconstruct” business case studies to better understand how power shapes business practices and cultures, and using the humanities as a “disruptive” pedagogy. What humanistic knowledge, values, methods, skills, or experiences do companies wish their employees would learn better in college? How can academic programs genuinely integrate humanities with business education without diluting either? How can humanities not just critique business but also contribute constructively to it? What assignments or experiences might work best?

Register for the Conference

The conference is free and open to the public, but registration prior to the event is required in order to attend.

The conference will be in-person only.

Key Speakers

Time	Event	Location
8:30 to 9 a.m.	Registration	Event Lounge, Student Center
9 to 10:15 a.m.	Breakfast and Keynote Speaker Lisa Siraganian J.D., Ph.D., J.R. Herbert Boone Chair in Humanities and Professor at Johns Hopkins University	Event Lounge, Student Center
10:30 to 11:45 a.m.	Panel #1 Critical Engagements in Religion and Economy for Business and Management Studies George Gonzalez, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology (Religion and Culture), Sociology, at Brauch College, CUNY James Dennis LoRusso, Ph.D. Instructor of Religious Studies, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of North Florida Deonnie Moodie, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Religious Studies, University of Oklahoma	Chancellor’s Suite, Student Center
Noon to 1:30 p.m.	Lunch and Fireside Chat Andrew C. Boynton, Ph.D. John and Linda Powers Family Dean, Carroll School of Management, Boston College,  in conversation with  Jonathan Farina, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Seton Hall University	4 Floor Atrium, Jubilee Hall
1:45 to 3 p.m.	Panel #2 The Humanities, Character Development, and Business Education  Fanli Jia, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, Seton Hall University Santiago Mejia, Ph.D. William J. Loschert Endowed Chair of Social Entrepreneurship, Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University Denise Vigani, Ph.D.  Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, Seton Hall University	Chancellor’s Suite, Student Center
3:15 to 4:30 p.m.	Panel #3  New Courses in Business Humanities Abe Zahkem, Ph.D. Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, Seton Hall University Professor Elizabeth McCrea, Ph.D. Department of Management, Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University	Chancellor’s Suite, Student Center