As we continue to mark the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Dr. Robert Kahn's talk will center around the work of Peter Molnar, a Hungarian activist and scholar who seeks to respond to hate speech with art, education and the punishment of speech that directly incites to violence.  Dr. Vrudny will examine Jesus' directive to forgive a wrongdoer 70x7 times in the context of hate speech, drawing on insights from the theology of Desmond Tutu and South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation process. 

‌Kimberly Vrudny is an associate professor of systematic theology at the University of St. Thomas and teaches in the areas of theology and public health, theology and the arts, and theological aesthetics.

Robert Kahn is a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.  He holds a J.D. and a Ph.D. in Political Science.  Kahn is currently working on a book length manuscript on how history, culture and geography make a society more or less likely to punish hate speech.