Mark Edmundson, professor of English at the University of Virginia, will present a public lecture titled “Self and Soul: In Defense of Ideals” on Monday, March 2 at 4 p.m. in room 204 in Maxwell Hall.

During his lecture, which is free and open to the Syracuse University community, Edmundson will challenge educators and students to think critically about recent trends in higher education that he says have substituted corporate values of marketability and material success for ideals such as courage, justice, curiosity, and knowing oneself.

“This is an unique opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to hear from Professor Edmundson, who has been a leading critic of the recent emphasis on skills and on analytical modes of analysis that separate students from the needs of self and soul,” says Harvey Teres, Dean's Professor for the Public Humanities in English. “He has contributed to many critical discussions on higher education, the role of the liberal arts and the humanities, the teaching of English, and the role of sports in the United States.”

Edmundson is the author of Why Football Matters: My Education in the Game (Penguin Press, 2014), Why Teach?: In Defense of a Real Education (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013), The Fine Wisdom and Perfect Teachings of the Kings of Rock and Roll (HarperCollins, 2010), the forthcoming Self and Soul: A Defense of Ideals (Harvard), and many others.

He earned a Ph.D. from Yale University and has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change. In 2002, Edmundson’s book Teacher: The One Who Made the Difference (Random House, 2002) received The New York Times Notable Book of the Year citation.  

Co-sponsors include the Departments of English; Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; Philosophy; and Religion in the College of Arts and Sciences; the Renée Crown University Honors Program; the School of Education; and the Dean's Professor for the Public Humanities in English.