Events

Past Event

IRCPL Devotion and Distraction Series: Jamie Kreiner (UCLA)

October 17, 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
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201 Casa Hispánica (612 West 116th St.)

"What was Pious Attention?"

We tend to think of the problem of paying attention while being bombarded with an overwhelming quantity and variety of information and seduced by ever more invasive forms of distraction as a uniquely contemporary one. But medieval monks, pious early modern poets, and others from the past developed strategies to focus during what they perceived as their own moments of distraction or information overload. What were the pious practices of attention that these medieval and early modern Christians cultivated? How might better understanding these practices from the past help us to think critically about focus and distraction today in both sacred and secular contexts?

Pre-registration is required.