The Winslow Lecture, featuring Swarthmore College Professor Helen North, will be presented on Thursday, October 18, at 4:10 p.m. in the Red Pit. Her lecture is titled "Think Mortal Thoughts." North is Centennial Professor Emerita of Classics at Swarthmore College, where she taught from 1948-1991.
Professor North, who is a native of Utica, received her A.B., A.M., and Ph.D. from Cornell University. Her many publications include Sophrosyne: Self-Knowledge and Self-Restraint in Greek Literature, which received the American Philological Association's Goodwin Award of Merit, and From Myth to Icon: Reflections of Greek Ethical Doctrine in Literature and Art (the 1979 Martin Classical Lectures). She has been president of the American Philological Association and an officer in several other organizations. She has received numerous fellowships and awards and holds honorary degrees from Rosary College, Trinity College (Dublin), LaSalle University, Yale University, and Fordham University.
Professor North will discuss the transition from archaic Greek morality to the injunction of Plato and Aristotle that we should strive to make ourselves immortal. What does it mean to think mortal thoughts, what is the impact of the jealousy of the gods, and what happens to mortal thoughts when traditional beliefs about divine and human nature are questioned?
The lecture is open to the public, free of charge. Refreshments will be served.
