Robert Emmet Meagher
Curriculum Vitae
Born: 9 August 1943
Dual Citizenship: USA and Ireland
Currently:
Professor of Humanities, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA 01002
Telephone: 860-844-8014 • Email: rmeagher@hampshire.edu
Home:
46 Rengerman Hill Road, P.O. Box 286, East Hartland, CT 06027
Telephone/fax: 860-844-8014 • Email: rmeagher@hampshire.edu
From the time of my initial appointment in 1972 to the newly created interdisciplinary faculty of Humanities and Arts at Hampshire College, I have endeavored to integrate the arts and the humanities in my research, writing, and teaching. My work, essentially interdisciplinary and committed to the integration of the arts and humanities, is rooted in the following principles: to integrate is not to mix or to cross or to confuse; in fact, to integrate may itself be a misnomer; for what is integral is already of itself one, a whole to be discovered rather than amassed. Further, interdisciplinary understanding presupposes disciplinary understanding, yoking a scholar and teacher to the specific demands of multiple disciplines rather than exempting him or her from the particular demands of any one discipline.
In recent years, I have striven to extend my work in the humanities and the arts beyond the traditional confines of the academy. It has been and remains my aim to help to bridge the concerns of the university and those of the wider civic community. While continuing to teach on the undergraduate and graduate level and to write, I have resolved to focus ever more of my energies on the creation of public projects in the humanities and the arts, projects in which the academy and the wider community are equal collaborators.
In keeping with the interdisciplinary character of my work, I have arranged my resume under the several categories of: philosophy and religion, ancient studies, and theatre and the arts . In each of these disciplinary areas I have endeavored to establish substantive grounding and professional excellence, which I hope are documented convincingly in this resume.
EDUCATION |
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| 1962–1966 | Undergraduate studies in Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Summa cum laude in Philosophy |
| 1966–1971 | Doctoral studies in Philosophical Theology, University of Chicago
[Revised thesis published by New York University Press, Harper & Row, and Hackett] |
REGULAR TEACHING APPOINTMENTS |
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| 1968–1969 | Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies Indiana University, Bloomington |
| 1969–1972 | Instructor in the Department of Theology University of Notre Dame |
| 1972— | School of Humanities and Arts, Hampshire College: Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion 1972–1974 Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion 1974–1984 Professor of Philosophy and Religion 1984–1988 Professor of Humanities 1988— |
VISITING APPOINTMENTS |
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| 1979–1980 | Faculty of Divinity Studies, Trinity College, University of Dublin |
| Spring 1984 | Department of Philosophy, Smith College |
| Fall 1984 | Department of Religious Studies, Mount Holyoke College |
| 1986–1987 | School of Classics, Trinity College, University of Dublin |
| 1988– | Honorary Research Associate, School of Classics, Trinity College, University of Dublin |
| Fall 1988 | Department of Religion and Biblical Literature, Smith College |
| Spring 1989 | Trumbull College and Department of Philosophy, Yale University |
| Fall 1989 | Departments of Theatre and Philosophy, University of Missouri-Kansas
City University of Kansas City Distinguished Visiting Professor |
| Spring 1990 | Departments of Theatre and History, Willamette University Distinguished Visiting Professor of the College of Liberal Arts |
| Fall 1990 | Davenport and Calhoun Colleges and Department of Philosophy, Yale University |
| 1993 | College of Arts and Sciences, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
American National Bank Chair of Excellence in the Humanities |
| Spring 1994 | NEH Visiting Distinguished Professor. Department of Religious Studies, Albright College |
| Spring 1996 | Department of Classics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
FELLOWSHIPS, HONORS, AWARDS |
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| 1970–1972 | Faculty, Committee for Academic Progress, University of Notre Dame |
| 1973— | Post-Doctoral Fellow of the Society for Values in Higher Education |
| 1977–1979 | Chairperson, History of Christian Thought, New England Region, American Academy of Religion |
| Summer 1981 | National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for research on Euripides |
| 1982–1983 | National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Theatre |
| Summer 1988 | Hewlett-Mellon Faculty Fellowship |
| Fall 1989 | Distinguished University of Kansas City Visiting Professor Award |
| Spring 1990 | Distinguished Scholar of the College of Liberal Arts, Willamette University |
| 1993 | American National Bank Chair of Excellence in the Humanities University of Tennessee at Chattanooga |
| Spring 1994 | NEH Visiting Distinguished Professorship, Albright College |
LECTURES |
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| Guest lectures at numerous schools, colleges and universities, including: Trinity College Dublin, Hofstra University, Harvard University, University of Missouri–Kansas City, Willamette University, Smith College, Baker University, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth [National University of Ireland], Trinity College Hartford, Williams College, Ossabaw Island Project, Deerfield Academy, Girls Preparatory School, Center for Faculty Development – Chattanooga Public Schools, Albright College, Amherst College. | |
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION |
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TRAINING |
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| Undergraduate and doctoral programs in philosophy and religion University of Notre Dame and University of Chicago, respectively | |
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS |
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| Indiana University–Bloomington | Trinity College, University of Smith College |
| University of Notre Dame | Hampshire College Yale University |
| Mount Holyoke College | University of Missouri–Kansas City Albright College |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | |
AREAS OF COMPETENCE[Areas of special interest and competence in italics.] |
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| Aesthetics | Ethics |
| Comparative Religion | Ancient Philosophy |
| History of Philosophy | Philosophy of Religion |
| Biblical Studies | History of Christian Theology |
| Political Philosophy | Existentialism and Phenomenology |
PUBLICATIONS |
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| 1968 | Personalities and Powers , Herder and Herder [Philosophy of Religion] |
| 1971 | Beckonings , Fortress Press [Biblical Theology] |
| 1972 | ed. Toothing-Stones: Re-thinking the Political , Swallow Press [Political Philosophy] |
| 1974 | Cave Notes , Fortress Press [Philosophy of Religion, Aesthetics] |
| 1978 | An Introduction to Augustine , New York University Press [History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion]; published in paperback as Augustine by Harper & Row, 1979 |
| 1979 | Camus , Harper & Row [Ethics, Existentialism, Philosophy and Literature] |
| 1998 | Augustine on the Inner Life of the Mind , Hackett [History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion] |
| 1968— | Numerous articles and reviews |
COURSES TAUGHT |
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| Aristotle, Augustine, and Kierkegaard | Philosophical Theology |
| Augustine Seminar | Problem of Suffering |
| Camus; Euripides and Camus | Religions of the West |
| Christian Doctrine and Thought 100-300 C.E | Sense and Spirit: Intro. to Aesthetics |
| Classical Theology: Augustine and Aquinas | Sense, Story, and Truth |
| Contemporary Religious Thought | Sound and Spirit: A Seminar on Music, Philosophy, and Time |
| Ethics of Aristotle and Kierkegaard | Theology and Culture |
| 5-College Seminar on Comparative Religion | Topics in World Religions |
| History of Political Philosophy | Modern Continental Theology |
| History of Philosophy I & II | Literature of Religious Awakening |
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TRAINING |
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| As a student, I completed nine years of formal Latin training [classical and ecclesiastical] and seven years of formal Greek training [Attic, Homeric, koine], which involved, as well, the intensive study of Roman and Greek history, mythology, and literature. For the past fifteen years, nearly all of my research and writing has been focused on ancient East Mediterranean history, religion, art, mythology, and literature, with particular emphasis on classical Greece, wherein lies my greatest depth of understanding. My research on Euripides was supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities in the summer of 1981; and, for the summer of 1988, I received a Hewlett-Mellon research grant to prepare over six hundred slides for an introductory course on the Ancient East Mediterranean World. Finally, I have been awarded the position of Honorary Research Associate of the School of Classics of Trinity College, the University of Dublin, for a period of five years, renewable. | |
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS |
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| Hampshire College | School of Classics, Trinity College, University of Dublin |
| University of Missouri-Kansas City | Willamette University |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | Albright College |
| University of Massachusetts | |
AREAS OF COMPETENCE[Areas of special interest in italics.] |
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| Homer | Greek Philosophy |
| Greek Drama | Hesiod |
| Translation of Greek Drama | Orality and Literacy |
| Comparative Mythology | Euripides |
| Comparative Epic | Greek Art |
| Greek History | Athens in the Fifth Century |
| History, Mythology, Art, and Literature of the Ancient East Mediterranean World | |
WRITINGS |
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| Translations: Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes
, commissioned by Irene Papas, published by Bolchazy-Carducci, 1996.
Euripides' Bakkhai , commissioned by Shared Experience Theatre Co., London and published by Bolchazy-Carducci, 1995; Helen , commissioned by Irene Papas and published by the University of Massachusetts Press, 1987; Iphigeneia in Tauris , commissioned by Irene Papas and A.G. Silva; Hekabe , published by Bolchazy-Carducci, 1996; and Iphigeneia at Aulis , published by Bolchazy-Carducci, 1994. |
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| [Most of the above translations have received productions, at, for example, the Samuel Beckett Centre in Dublin, the Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, the Fine Arts Center of the University of Massachusetts, Hofstra University, and Arches National Park, Utah.] | |
| Mortal Vision: The Wisdom of Euripides , St.
Martin's Press, l989 "Techne," commissioned contribution to Perspecta 24 , Yale School of Architecture, Rizzoli, 1988 Iphigenia , an adaptation based on Euripides, with original score for orchestra and chorus by Jan Swafford Helen: Myth, Legend, and the Culture of Misogyny , Continuum, 1995. |
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COURSES TAUGHT |
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| Ancient Epic: Gilgamesh, Iliad, Pentateuch | Euripides |
| Ancient Greek Drama | Greek Language and Literature |
| Athens, Jerusalem, Rome | Introduction to Ancient East |
| Biblical and Homeric Narrative | Mediterranean World |
| Poems of Love and War | Centers of Ancient Mediterranean Civilization |
| The First Woman: Inanna, Pandora, Helen, Eve | Egyptian and Indo-Iranian Mythology |
THEATRE AND THE ARTS |
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TRAINING AND TEACHING |
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| Since 1972 I have collaborated with a wide range of colleagues in theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts, teaching with them, serving with them on examination committees, and planning a range of cultural events. This has been for me one extended education in the arts as well as an opportunity for me to share my own understanding with colleagues and students. In 1982–1983 I was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in playwriting, carrying with it a $12,500 prize for my play H , providing an extended period of time for the development of my playwriting skills. In 1987, I was invited to give a series of workshops to the professional theatre students at the Samuel Beckett Centre in Dublin; and, since then, I have been asked on several occasions to speak to students, graduate and undergraduate, at various universities working on the staging of ancient Greek drama. In 1989 I was appointed as a distinguished visiting professor to the graduate faculty of theatre at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, where I taught a course on ancient theatre and directed a production of Euripides' Bakkhai . | |
WRITING |
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| 1974 | Pheidias , a one-act play produced at Hampshire College |
| 1980 | Jumble Sale , produced at the Focus Theatre, Dublin and
later in Kilkenny and Naas Rabbit Lesson, original full-length play |
| 1981 | The Lion , original full-length play on the life of Alcibiades
of Athens H , original full-length play read at the Corner Loft Studio, New York, under the direction of William Woodman and at the Mark Taper Forum, with Richard Dreyfus as Armel |
| 1982 | Plague , full-length dramatic adaptation of Camus' The Plague |
| 1983 | Firestorm , original full-length play, published by Grimpenmire Press |
| 1984 | Feast Day , original full-length play written for Irene
Papas and Michael Cacoyannis, published by Grimpenmire Press Collaboration with Irene Papas on screenplay entitled Taurica Screenplay for proposed sequel to Zorba the Greek , commissioned by Michael Cacoyannis in conjunction with Twentieth-Century Fox |
| 1985 | Screenplay for Helen , commissioned by Irene Papas |
| 1981–1998 | Translations of ancient Greek drama, listed under Ancient Studies |
| 1990 | Iphigenia , an adaptation in two acts based on Euripides, with music for orchestra and chorus—added in 1993—by Jan Swafford |
| 1991 | The Last Hostage , a novel, unpublished |
| 1998 | Visiting Day , original children's play |
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE |
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PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE |
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ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE past and current[At Hampshire College, unless otherwise indicated.] |
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| Coordinator for the Humanities Moderator, Reappointment and Promotion Meetings, Humanities and Arts Member of the Board of Directors, The Massachusetts Review Five College* Irish Studies Steering Committee Humanities and Arts Executive Committee Five-College Seminar on the Humanities in Crisis Humanities and Arts Reappointments and Promotions Committee College Standards Committee College Senate College Committee for Faculty Reappointments and Promotions Chair, Curriculum Committee Convener, Educational Policy Committee Five College Dance Council Scholarship Committee Proseminar Planning Group Numerous Search Committees Freshman Curiculum Committee [Notre Dame] Urban Studies Advisory Council [Notre Dame] [*refers to the consortium of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges, forming, with the University of Massachusetts, the FIVE COLLEGES INCORPORATED.] |
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ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE past and current |
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| Coordinator of Five College Euripides Festival Coordinator of Hampshire College Arts Month Coordinator of Advising, School of Humanities and Arts, involving direction of the Advising Center Founder, Senior Fellows Emeritus Program, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation Founder, Hampshire College Lectures in Philosophy of Religion Coordinator, Notre Dame-University of Chicago Colloquium in Honor of Mircea Eliade |
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COMMUNITY SERVICE past and current |
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More on Robert Meagher:
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