President Jonathan J. Sanford, Ph.D. | University of Dallas website

Author and literary critic Cynthia L. Haven is set to deliver a lecture as part of the McDermott Lecture Series at the University of Dallas. Haven, known for her work on René Girard, will present on February 27, 2025, in SB Hall's Multipurpose Room.

Haven has held fellowships at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and Stanford University, where she runs her blog, The Book Haven. She authored "Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard" in 2018 and edited a recent anthology of Girard’s writings titled "All Desire Is a Desire for Being." Additionally, she wrote "Czesław Miłosz: A California Life" in 2021.

"In 2022, I visited the University of Dallas for the first time to speak at the Catholic Imagination Conference," Haven remarked. "This year, I am privileged to return to this campus to share the wisdom and vision of someone I am honored to call a mentor and dear friend, the French theorist René Girard."

The McDermott Lecture Series was established in 1974 by Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott to honor early university leaders Donald and Louise Cowan by bringing public intellectuals annually.

The University of Dallas is noted for its rigorous Core Curriculum and diverse graduate programs across various disciplines. It aims to be a leading Catholic liberal arts institution with campuses in Texas and Italy.