The Philosophy Department’s Rukavina Lecture is our signature annual lecture event. We invite a scholar from outside the university to give a talk on contemporary philosophical issues, aimed specifically at our PHIL 101: Reasoning students. The event is tailored to give them the opportunity to engage in dialogue with leading scholars on issues that impact their lives.
The Lecture was established in 1999 and is named in honor of Professor Thomas Rukavina, who was the first permanent lay (non-Jesuit) member of the Philosophy Department faculty at Gonzaga. He taught from 1958 to 1999 and was an expert in existentialism and the philosophy of Martin Heidegger.
2026 Lecture Series
Philosophy of Humor and Pop Culture, Dr. Elizabeth Cantalamessa
16 April 2026, 5:30-7:00 pm, Humanities Building, College Commons
Dr. Elizabeth Cantalamessa (St. Bonaventure University) will offer a thought-provoking lecture on the philosophy of humor, exploring how memes, irony, and satire reshape our shared norms of responsibility and accountability. Dr. Cantalamessa is known for her work in pragmatism and philosophy of language, where she examines humor not as entertainment but as a powerful cultural tool for negotiating meaning, authority, and social identity. See more about this event on the Events at Gonzaga calendar.
Loving Strangers, Dr. Meghan Sullivan
30 September 2026, 5:00-7:00 pm, Hemmingson Auditorium
Meghan Sullivan is the Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, and founding Director of Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. Sullivan is currently working on a book about the role of love in our moral lives. She is also directing a major grant project with scholars and nonprofit leaders to expand the love ethic, as well as a major planning grant considering the role of Christian thought in AI ethics. Sullivan was a featured speaker at the 2025 TED Next Conference.