“The Many Legacies of Viktor Frankl” A Roundtable Discussion
Schedule
Thu, 19 Mar, 2026 at 05:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
1073 North Benson Road , Fairfield, CT, United States, Connecticut 06824 | Fairfield, CT
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Man’s Search for Meaning: A Symposium on Viktor Frankl Session 3“The Many Legacies of Viktor Frankl” A roundtable discussion featuring Dr. William Breitbart, Rabbi Darren Levine (Tamid Synagogue), Christopher Domig (Sea Dog Theater/The Viktor Frankl Project), and Eileen O’Shea, DNP, APRN-BC, CHPPN
This symposium will explore the life, ideas, and continued relevance of the oft-overlooked Jewish intellectual and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, borne out of his experience of the Holocaust, has had a profound yet underappreciated influence on a wide variety of disciplines and on generations of readers. The symposium, in the spirit of the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis, encourages the Fairfield community to reflect upon their search for meaning in a disorienting time of rapid technological, societal and political change. Through lectures, performance, and conversation, this symposium will bring scholars, medical practitioners, religious leaders, artists and others together through interdisciplinary and interfaith dialogue.
Please join us for a conversation about the many legacies of Viktor Frankl. Dr. William Breitbart (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) is a widely-recognized and extensively published leader in the field of psycho-oncology and a pioneer of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for cancer patients. Rabbi Darren Levine is the founding rabbi of Tamid synagogue (NYC) and the founder of Positive Judaism: A New Vision for Jewish Life in the 21st Century. Christopher Domig is an actor and writer who serves as the Artistic Director of NYC’s award-winning Sea Dog Theater and host of the Viktor Frankl Project podcast.
William Breitbart, M.D. is The Jimmie C. Holland Chair in Psychiatric Oncology, Attending Psychiatrist, Psychiatry Service, and Immediate Past Chairman (10/2014-8/2025) in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. He is the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the International Psycho-oncology Society (IPOS), the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS), and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Breitbart also served as President Emeritus of IPOS. Dr. Breitbart's research efforts focus on psychiatric aspects of cancer and palliative care. His most recent efforts focus on Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for cancer patients. He has had continuous NIH RO1 funding of investigator initiated research since 1989. Dr. Breitbart was PI of the “Network Project, NCI R25 grant (1992-98) which trained clinicians in cancer pain management and psycho-oncology. He is currently PI of R25 CA190169 which is training a national cohort of cancer care clinicians in Meaning Centered Psychotherapy. He has over 400 peer review publications, chapters and review papers, and 13 textbooks including: Psycho-oncology - 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Editions; the treatment manuals for Meaning-Centered Group Psychotherapy in Advanced Cancer Patients, and Individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Advanced Cancer Patient; and Meaning Centered Psychotherapy in the Cancer Setting from Oxford University Press. Dr. Breitbart is Editor-in-Chief, of Cambridge University Press’ international palliative care journal entitled, “Palliative & Supportive Care”.
Darren Levine is the founding rabbi of Tamid and first set the vision for our synagogue in 2011. He cares deeply about building community, moral education, and creative Jewish expression and is the founder of Positive Judaism: A New Vision for Jewish Life in the 21st Century. He holds Rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and has a Doctorate in Pastoral Psychology from the Post Graduate Center for Mental Health. He hosts a regular podcast, and his book, “Positive Judaism: A Rabbi’s Guide to Wellbeing and Happiness” is available wherever books are sold.
Christopher J. Domig (Performer, Co-Writer and Co-Creator) is an actor, writer, collaborator, and the Artistic Director of NYC’s award-winning Sea Dog Theater.
Eileen O’Shea, DNP, APRN-BC, CHPPN, is a nursing professor and directs the Kanarek Center for Palliative Care Nursing Education at Fairfield University's Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, where she integrates palliative care across undergraduate and graduate curricula. In 2023, she founded the Pediatric Palliative Coalition of Connecticut to build clinical and community partnerships that advance pediatric palliative care standards statewide. Her scholarship—publications and national presentations—focuses on palliative and end of life care education and improving clinical care for children with serious illness and their families.
Hosted by the Humanities Institute, Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, Kanarek Center for Palliative Care and Nursing Education, and the Dean of Meditz College of Arts and Sciences. The organizers are grateful to Robin Bennett Kanarek for her generous support.
Thursday, March 19th 5:00 pm
Marian Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies - Kanarek Center NHS 103/104
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Where is it happening?
1073 North Benson Road , Fairfield, CT, United States, Connecticut 06824Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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