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SOUTH BEND, IN— Love is one of the most prevalent forces in modern society.  However, love is often distorted and misrepresented, particularly in respect to women. 

A re-examination of cultural attitudes and perceptions regarding the female person is necessary to promote the dignity of every human being and emphasize the unique and complementary natures of men and women. The fourth annual Edith Stein Project, to be hosted at the University of Notre Dame on February 13-14, 2009, is a conference which engages in the task of building a coherent philosophical foundation for a "new feminism" and for authentic love in our modern world.

The conference is open to all, women and men, and hopes to draw participants from all walks of life, including students, faculty, professionals, religious, and parents. The conference utilizes the riches of the Catholic tradition to obtain a deeper understanding of the male and female person, while living in a world scarred and tainted by attitudes of violence, rejection of life, and the defacement of the human person. 

The conference this year is entitled, "Love:  What Hurts & What Works—Engaging Self, Society, and God."  The emphasis of the conference will be on human relationships and what damages them, including the harmful social or cultural trends that stem from a misunderstanding of women and men, addressing such issues as pornography, rape, domestic violence, gendered psychology, problems in the family, attacks by society, and how to heal broken people and broken hearts.

Edith Stein, the patron saint of the conference, was a German philosopher who died a martyr within the gas chambers of Auschwitz.  Her philosophical writings address the distinct role women play in society, the undeniable, nurturing female character, and the vocation to motherhood. Edith Stein was born on Oct. 12, 1891, to a Jewish family in Breslau, Germany. She studied philology and philosophy at the Universities of Breslau and Goettingen and earned a doctoral degree in philosophy from the University of Freiburg, where she collaborated with Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology.  She converted to Catholicism when she was 30 years old and 12 years later entered the Carmelite convent in Cologne.  Fleeing persecution, she moved to a Carmelite convent in Echt, Holland, in 1938 but was arrested by the Nazis in 1942 during a nationwide retaliation following the Dutch Catholic bishops' denunciation of the deportation of Jews and the expulsion of Jewish children from the Catholic school system.  She died at Auschwitz on Aug. 9, 1942.  Known in the Carmelite order as Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein was canonized, or proclaimed a saint, by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

For a complete schedule of speakers or to register online, visit http://www.nd.edu/~idnd/edithstein/index.html. For more information, please contact Michael Bohnert at mbohnert@nd.edu.