Members of the faculty recently have been published on topics as diverse as Horace’s lyric poems and the holy wells of Ireland.
Writing in February for The Point Magazine, Associate Professor of Philosophy Mark Hopwood watches English Premier League soccer from his home in Sewanee and considers the ways in which sports fandom is like religious faith.
Also in February, Associate Professor of Classical Languages Stephanie McCarter had a column in Psyche about friendship in Horace’s lyric poems. Horace reminds her that in times of upheaval it is friendship, rather than discord, that allays our anxieties and gives life meaning and depth. Psyche is a digital magazine from Aeon that illuminates the human condition through psychology, philosophical understanding and the arts.
Writing for the March/April 2021 issue of Foreign Affairs, Vice-Chancellor Reuben Brigety explores the deep domestic divisions that Americans have to overcome and suggests that we can learn lessons from other societies that have emerged from tribal conflict. “It will fall to Americans to do the work themselves of bridging their country’s tribal divisions. … The state of U.S. democracy, as well as the country’s place in the world, depends in large measure on whether its citizens can meet this challenge.”
In early March, the BBC covered Professor of Anthropology Celeste Ray’s research on the thousands of holy wells found across Ireland. These water sources are thought by some to have miraculous healing properties, but an unknown number have been lost to development. Ray uses technology to map the location of holy wells and document the associated folklore, and has created a database to allow communities and scholars to collaborate in recording the wells.
