Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination

The Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination at Loyola Marymount University is a community of scholars who work in dialogue with the Catholic intellectual tradition by developing, critically examining, communicating, or otherwise engaging the rich resources of Catholic thought and imagination, especially as it is informed by Jesuit and Ignatian vision. The Academy serves as a hub for scholarship, interdisciplinary research, innovative pedagogy, and creative outreach across LMU’s campus in the southwest United States and beyond.

ACTI Fellowship Presentations

Join us for ACTI’s Faculty Fellow symposium on Monday, September 15, at 10:00 AM in the Center for Faculty Development (University Hall 3030). This year’s fellows are writing essays on the intersections of creativity and artificial intelligence. Their work does not take a collective stance “for” or “against” AI, but instead reflects on its challenge and promise across disciplines. This event received support from the Center for Faculty Development and the Provost's Office.

Faculty Fellows & Projects:

Aidin Namin

(College of Business Administration, Marketing Analytics)

Contemplating the Algorithm: A Laudato Si’–Inspired Reflection on Marketing, Data Analytics, and AI

Examines how marketing and data analytics practitioners can respond to AI in ways that are ethically responsible, spiritually grounded, and socially just.

Saeri Dobson

(College of Communication & Fine Arts, Studio Arts – Graphic Design)

Whose Voice, Whose Face?

AI, Race, and the Reimagining of Divine Presence in the Digital Age

Explores how generative artificial intelligence is reshaping theological imagination by producing visual and auditory representations of the divine.

Michelle Amor Gillie

(School of Film and Television)

The Ignatian Imagination and Artificial Intelligence: Teaching Screenwriters to Discern Creative Use of AI

Investigates how Ignatian principles can guide young screenwriting students to thoughtfully use AI in creative processes without losing their authentic voice.

Jane Brucker

(Department of Art & Art History, Studio Arts – Drawing)

Time Blessings

Offers a visual essay of clocks, prints, and performance, exploring the difference between AI’s perception of time and human perception of time. Meditating on existence, spirituality, and our shared future, her work echoes Laudato Sí by repositioning time as a medium for ecological awareness, interconnection, and collective care for our planet.

Nancy Choe

(College of Communication & Fine Arts, Marital & Family Therapy / Art Therapy)

An Autoethnographic Reflection on Climate Trauma, AI Tools, and Art Therapy Practice

Studies how AI technologies affect personal and collective processes of grief, recovery, creativity, and meaning-making while rooting her work in the lived experience of surviving the Eaton Fire. She explores how creative artists and mental health professionals can ethically utilize AI.

K.J. Peters

(BCLA English)

Thinking on the Page: AI as Supplement to Reasoning and Expression

Argues that AI in writing classrooms reveals not a threat but a symptom of educational habits—and makes a pedagogy informed by Jesuit rhetorical tradition and moral reasoning essential for discernment of values and ideologies that AI emits.

Aimee Ross-Kilroy

(BCLA English)

The Soul in the Machine? Artificial Intelligence, Embodiment, and Catholic Literature
Considers how Catholic and Catholic-adjacent writers anticipated AI and how literature can help us navigate the strangeness of large language models through embodiment, imagination, and faith traditions. She places 20th and 21st-century works in conversation with Laudato Si'.

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ACTI in the LMU Community

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Anima Mundi

Anima Mundi: The Soul of the World was a live performance over three nights in early December 2023. The show included a recorded soundtrack, a live choir, and an animated film. This collaborative artistic experience utilized 2D animation, 3D printing, and high-definition video mapping projection. José García Moreno wrote, designed, and directed the film. Timothy Law Snyder composed music for the project, and John Flaherty arranged and directed the music.

Advocate Podcast

Advocate is a podcast series telling stories with sound about prominent faculty, staff, and students at LMU. This show opens doors to understanding diverse faiths, races, and ideologies. We seek those who are overlooked or considered less traditional. The aim of our show is to cherish our history and simultaneously share vibrant experiences within our campus-wide community and beyond.

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Laudato Si' Spotlight

Bishop calls for action ‘at every level in society’ to address environmental crises.

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Friends of ACTI Events

The first Faculty Pub Night of the 2025-26.

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Visit the Film Website

Wildwood is an upcoming stop-motion animated dark fantasy and sixth feature film produced by American animators Laika.

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Featured Mission and Ministry Event

This course is designed for clergy, lay professionals, volunteers, and bereavement ministers who feel called to walk with those facing loss.

ACTI's Environmental Alliance

Loyola Marymount University has signed on to the Laudato Si' Action Platform, a global initiative inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical On Care of Our Common Home (Laudato Si') that will guide our journey to ecological renewal by 2030.

Laudato Si' Action Platform

Laudato Si' Document