In April we hosted a seminar featuring Boston University's Anita Patterson in dialogue with students representing several Boston-area universities. With the polarized state of American politics and discourse on everyone's mind, Dr. Patterson argued that deep engagement with literature offers unique, even practical benefits for those looking to transcend our epidemic of unthinking reaction. At one point she observed that humanities education makes students more open-minded and respectful of differences, because in the humanities we know there is always more we can learn from others, always one more "nuance or perspective" on a given poem or novel.

We're excited to announce a brand new collection of essays from Daisaku Ikeda,  Hope Is a Decision. Published by Middleway Press and developed in association with our Dialogue Path Press, the volume explores the many ways that hope is always relevant, no matter how bleak things seem, and further, that hope is always possible, no matter the challenges we are facing. The selected essays are divided into four sections: hope and happiness; friendship and poetry; good and evil; and life and death.
 

As the spring changes to summer you'll notice some exciting leadership changes here at the Ikeda Center. This June, Yoshiki Tanigawa becomes President, Virginia Benson of the Ikeda Center becomes Executive Director, and Jason Goulah of DePaul University becomes Executive Advisor. Their objectives will be to explore promising new directions for the Center's programs and extend the inter-generational reach of its networking. Click through to learn more about our upcoming plans in pursuit of peace, learning, and dialogue!