date

Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5

Location

The Riverside Church — New York, NY

how to register

Register at the bottom of this page.

Living Well at the End of a World

Today conservatives, progressives, and everyone in between feel the cultural ground shifting under us. We fear impending civilizational collapse due to technology, attempts to obliterate our cultural inheritance, and the imminent death—or intractable persistence—of liberalism. This sense of doom may affect the milieu in which we live, but it does not absolve us from the persistent question of how to live well. Indeed, it leaves us asking a new question: how do we live well at the end of a world?

In a way, living well at the end of a world is no different than living well in times of social stability and flourishing. But today we need to learn how to flourish in a time of deep cultural change, and we need to learn from moral exemplars who have done this in a particularly effective way. We need help struggling over what can and cannot change, and how we should faithfully adapt to what once was inconceivable.

To help think through these matters, the Morningside Institute will host a two-day conference at our office in New York City on April 4–5, 2025. On its first day, the conference will examine some of the radical changes that Western societies are undergoing. Speakers include:

  • Stephen Bullivant (St. Mary’s) on demographic decline and the change in convictions across generations

  • Antón Barba-Kay (Deep Springs) on the effects of technology—especially social media and AI—on our freedom and national character

  • Angel Adams Parham (UVA) on the intentional forgetting and attempted obliteration of culture, history, and self-understanding

After the three papers, the day will end with a round-table discussion with the three speakers.

On the second day, the conference will explore in greater detail historical examples of how communities have navigated periods of intense cultural change and even devastation. In particular, we will examine how they have built new institutions and reformed existing ones to renew their cultures and societies. What lays the foundation for revival and renaissance during times of cultural change? Speakers include:

  • Bishop Erik Varden (Trondheim) on lessons from monasticism, medieval and modern

  • James Hankins (Harvard) on Renaissance humanism

  • Sarah Shortall (Notre Dame) on the Catholic reaction to the anticlerical campaign at the turn of the century and the rise of fascism in France

As on the first day, a round-table discussion will conclude the second day of the conference.

Please RSVP with the form below. Reach out to us at info@morningsideinstitute.org with any questions.