Introduction

This lecture was given at the University of South Carolina on September 29, 2022. For more information on upcoming events, visit thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Catherine Ruth Pakaluk is an Assistant Professor of Social Research and Economic Thought and the head of the Social Research academic area at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America. She is the author of several influential articles and was the 2015 recipient of the Acton Institute’s Novak Award, a prize given for “significant contributions to the study of the relationship between religion and economic liberty.” Dr. Pakaluk is the Founder and Director of the new American Fertility Project based at Catholic University, and is the author of a forthcoming book on liberty and Catholic social thought. Pakaluk earned her doctorate in economics in 2010 at Harvard University under the 2016 Nobel-laureate Oliver Hart, and is a widely-admired writer and sought-after speaker on matters of culture, gender, social science, the vocation of women, and the work of Edith Stein. She lives in Maryland with her husband Michael and eight children.