Events Calendar
University of Wisconsin-Madison campus units, registered student organizations, or community members can submit events to be featured on The Madison Federalist’s calendar for free. Send them to madisonfederalist@gmail.com!
February 2026 Events:
February 4th at 6:00 PM in Law School 7200: How Conservatives Can Engage With Culture with Christopher Scalia
February 9th at 6:00 PM in Law School 7200: Universal Fraternity as the Heart of a Sociopolitical Vision with Sr. Marie Kolbe Zamora
February 10th from 5:00 to 8:00 PM in the Kohl Center: Spring 2026 Student Organization Fair
February 16th at 7:00 PM in Memorial Union Shannon Hall: Higher Ed, Public Policy, and a Divided America with Governor Mitch Daniels
February 23rd at 6:00 PM in Law School 7200: From opus Dei to the Opus Dei: the Modern Reevaluation of Labor in the Roman Catholic Church
How Conservatives Can Engage With Culture
WHAT: American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Christopher Scalia will discuss the intersection between culture, faith, and politics in a talk entitled “How Conservatives Can Engage With Culture.” Scalia earned a Ph.D. in English from UW-Madison and worked as a professor before joining AEI. He was most recently named Poetry Editor for The New Criterion. He is the author of 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven’t Read) and coedited Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived and On Faith: Lessons from an American Believer.
WHEN: February 4, 2026 at 6:00 PM
WHERE: University of Wisconsin Law School Lubar Commons (Room 7200)
HOSTS: The Madison Federalist, Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy, American Enterprise Institute, Young Americans for Freedom of UW-Madison
Universal Fraternity as the Heart of a Sociopolitical Vision
WHAT: The first talk in the Order & Influence lecture series will discuss Universal Fraternity as the Heart of a Sociopolitical Vision. Presenter Sr. Marie Kolbe Zamora, O.F.M., S.T.D., is a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, currently residing in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She teaches courses at St. Norbert College.
The Order & Influence lecture series, sponsored by the CSLD’s Catholic Social & Political Thought initiative, highlights the influence of religious orders and lay associations on broader cultural and political life through an examination of the unique history and charisms of six prominent religious communities.
WHEN: February 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
WHERE: University of Wisconsin Law School Lubar Commons (Room 7200)
HOST: Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy
Higher Ed, Public Policy, and a Divided America with Governor Mitch Daniels
WHAT: Mitch Daniels served as a two-term governor of the state of Indiana from 2005 to 2013 and as the 12th president of Purdue University from 2013 to 2022. He currently serves a Distinguished Scholar and Senior Advisor at the Liberty Fund. In a moderated conversation with Susan Webb Yackee, the director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, Governor Daniels will share perspectives gleaned from a unique career that reached the highest levels of both state government and higher education.
WHEN: February 16, 2026 at 7:00 pm
WHERE: Memorial Union, Shannon Hall
HOSTS: Ted and Mary Kellner, the Kohl Initiative, the College of Letters & Science, the Paul Offner Lecture Series, the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy, and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership
From opus Dei to the Opus Dei: the Modern Reevaluation of Labor in the Roman Catholic Church
WHAT: This second talk in the Order & Influence lecture series, titled From opus Dei to the Opus Dei: the Modern Reevaluation of Labor in the Roman Catholic Church, will be given by cultural anthropologist Frank Ngo of the Ohio State University Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society.
Abstract: Is there a connection between the monastic Opus Dei and the lay group Opus Dei? (Echoing Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Opus Dei is a force of Western Modernity within Roman Catholicism in its emphasis on finding sanctity in the everyday.) By tracing the changing relationship between labor and ritual, we interrogate how Opus Dei marks a historical shift within the Catholic Church with regards to a hierarchy of work and sentiments towards ordinary life.
WHEN: February 23, 2026 at 6:00 PM
WHERE: University of Wisconsin Law School Lubar Commons (Room 7200)
HOST: Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy