Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Kevin Ahern
Kevin Ahern, Ph.D., is the director of the Peace Studies Program at Manhattan College and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies. His new book is called Structures of Grace: Catholic Organizations Serving the Global Common Good (Orbis, 2015).
MC: Dr. Ahern, you were the President of the International Movement of Catholic Students and you are an active board member of several national and international networks. Your scholarship continues to have a global focus. The world wants to know, what is your perfect pizza?
KA: Plain from a family owned pizzeria in the Bronx – ideally a place with red and white plastic tablecloths.
MC: We have heard that you make effective use of technology in the classroom. What is your favorite youtube video?
MC: Everyone knows that you've been caught eves dropping on Dr. Robert Geraci's lectures on Transhumanism. If you could wake up tomorrow in the body of someone else, who would it be and why?
KA: It would be my 6 month year old son so that I could see what the world is like through a baby's eyes.
MC: You are famous for your ability to function on very little sleep. What is the longest you have gone without sleep?
KA: Three days as I was planning a very complicated meeting. But I was way more tired a month after our son was born.
MC: Let's talk about your book. But first, what is your favorite book? You can't pick your own.
KA: Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
MC: Can you save us all a lot of time and just summarize your book in one sentence?
KA: An examination of the theological and ethical significance of Catholic movements and organizations involved in the struggle for social justice.
MC: What was your inspiration for your book?
KA: Seeing the amazing work of Catholic social movements in different places around the world for peace, justice and human rights.
MC: Who has been the most influential person in your career?
KA: Sr. Elizabeth Johnson. She was a professor of mine in college and she remains a model for how I teach and practice theology.
MC: What was one of your most defining moments?
KA: After college, I was elected as the president of one of the largest student-led student organizations, the International Movement of Catholic Students. In that role, I spent four years living in Paris and visiting student groups around the world.
MC: Besides the lucrative nature of your job and the amazing retirement plan, why did you choose to be a professor?
KA: To work with, learn from, and empower students to be agents of social justice.