Braniff Undergraduate Conference in the Liberal Arts (BUCLA)

In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV throws down a gauntlet: “When human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human.” What does it mean to remain “profoundly human” in a technological society? Are any of the advancements that we have come to perceive as essential to western standards of living at odds with human flourishing? What are the implications, benefits, and costs of the relationship between humanity and technology?

The Braniff Graduate Student Association (BGSA) invites undergraduate students in all liberal arts disciplines to consider these questions at the Braniff Undergraduate Conference in the Liberal Arts (BUCLA) on February 5-6, 2027 at the University of Dallas. At this event, undergraduate students and recent graduates from liberal arts colleges throughout the United States will deliver presentations on historical, literary, and philosophical texts of the Western liberal arts tradition. The conference also includes a UD faculty panel discussion and an address by this year's keynote speaker, Dr. Joshua Hren of the University of Saint Thomas in Houston.