LEINBACH: So, in an ideal world, what would you hope to come out of the findings and the research and the new light shed on this?

ROTHMAN: I think there are two things: one is a really positive and constructive collaboration between Georgetown and the Jesuits, and the descendant community to help advance educational and economic opportunities for members of the descendant community who are in need. That’s one thing.

The second thing is there’s a deeper question here: What is history good for? Why do we study history at all? Ultimately, I think one of the reason we study history is to learn, but what do we learn? One thing we learn is that we need to try to broaden our moral imagination. So you look at what happened in 1838, and the Jesuits were operating within a very limited moral universe where they cared more about the financial stability of the university and the order than the lives of this group of people. They basically sacrificed that group of people for their own interest. If you look at the history like that, it’s a horrible history. A very traumatic history. But rather than just say, “Those are bad people and they did a bad thing” I think it should cause us to look at ourselves and think, “Well what are we doing - who are we sacrificing for our own interests, and how can we look with new eyes at our own deeds?” So, I guess, ultimately, thinking and learning about this history should be able to make us more aware of our own morality. Link to Biography