Apply for 2026 Summer Seminar Retreat
Full-time faculty and exempt staff are invited to apply for the 2026 Summer Seminar Retreat sponsored by the Center for Faith and Learning and Great Books for a discussion of Augustine's The City of God.
The overnight retreat will be held May 27-28, 2026, at Rosenthal, The Malibu Estate and Vineyard with hotel accommodations at Cambria Hotel, Calabasas. Participants have the option of a personal retreat at the vineyard on May 26 and one extra night at the hotel on May 26-27 at no extra cost. Apply by Friday, February 6, 2026, at 5 PM. There is space for 15 faculty and exempt staff. Participants will be chosen to create a balance of participants from all areas of the university.
- Where: Sessions will be held at Rosenthal, The Malibu Estate and Vineyard
- Hotel accommodations: The Cambria Calabasas (May 27-28 with optional personal retreat May 26-27)
- When: 8:30 AM Wednesday, May 27 to 3:30 PM Thursday, May 28, 2026
- Optional personal retreat at the vineyard from 9 AM to 3 PM (bring a brown bag lunch) on May 26 with one extra night at the hotel on May 26-27 at no extra cost to you.
- Who: Open to full-time faculty and exempt (salaried) staff
- Led by Dr. J.A.T. Smith, CFL Associate Director
Participation includes a $450 stipend, a copy of the book to read in advance, and room and board at the hotel, including lunch and dinner on Wednesday and breakfast and lunch on Thursday.
Participants who opt in for the personal retreat on May 26 will need to bring a brown bag lunch for May 26 and provide their own dinner; breakfast will be provided at the hotel on May 27 for those who stay overnight.
Seminar Information:
Colleagues, you are invited to join CFL's annual Summer Seminar in partnership with Seaver Great Books as we discuss the foundational Christian text, City of God by Augustine of Hippo (5th c.). This historic work of political theology compares two communities, the "city of God" with the "city of man," each distinguished by their respective loves as well as their respective ends. We gather now, from all areas of the university, to ask ourselves what it means to live within imperfect institutions while still orienting ourselves to higher goods. How does the transcendent Christian mission of the university intersect with the pragmatic day-to-day demands of its work, demands shared with its secular counterparts? Since the two cities are mingled in this life, how ought disciples of Christ to navigate their citizenship in the city of God as well as their stake in earthly peace and temporal goods? The work will also reinforce the way that human history has always revolved around love, underscoring the paramount importance of our own loves today. You are what you love. It will be a time of close reading, deep conversation, and conviviality.
Contact Stephanie Cupp with questions.