Austin College will present the 2019 Will Mann Richardson Lecture, “How the Humanities Saved the World: From the American Revolution to the New Gilded Age,” by American philosopher and author Matthew Stewart at 11 a.m. on April 1 in Sherman Hall’s Hoxie Thompson Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Stewart graduated from Princeton University in 1985, then completed a Ph.D. in philosophy at Oxford in 1988. In his first career, he worked as a management consultant, traveling worldwide and advising large financial institutions about business techniques. Now, he lives in Boston and devotes his time to writing and philosophy.
“The humanities played a vital role in the founding of the American republic and in the struggle over slavery,” Stewart said in describing his lecture. “Can they do the same in an age of rising inequality and political polarization? My talk will explore some little-known chapters of American history and connect them with current challenges.”
Stewart’s books include The Management Myth: Why the Experts Keep Getting It Wrong; The Truth About Everything; Nature’s God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic; Monturiol’s Dream; and The Courtier and the Heretic. His article, “The 9.9 Percent is the New Aristocracy,” about the modern class divide in America was recently published in The Atlantic.
The Will Mann Richardson Lectureships and Seminars bring outstanding individuals to campus to discuss pertinent issues in economics, banking, law, and government. They were endowed by gifts from Will Mann Richardson and his wife, Gertrude Anne Windsor Richardson; his mother-in-law, Gertrude Buckley Windsor; and his children, William Windsor Richardson, John Marshall Richardson, Gertrude Windsor Richardson, and James Windsor Richardson.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with 46 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and more than 100 expert faculty members allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Austin College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.