The Friends of the Heyman Center—an alumni-based group affiliated with the Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University—hosts the Carl Hovde Colloquia, named in memory of Carl F. Hovde, Professor of English and Dean of Columbia College (1968-1972). Open to Columbia alumni and others, these colloquia generally comprise six in-person meetings on a particular theme chosen by a Columbia professor who provides a brief syllabus and leads the discussion. In response to COVID-19, the Friends will offer its first colloquium in Fall 2020 via Zoom—free of charge. Starting on Thursday, September 10 from 6:00-7:30 PM—and on each of the following four Thursdays at that time—Gareth Williams, Professor of Classics and Chair of the Friends, will lead the discussion of five Classical texts with surprising resonance in our current pandemic: the Iliad, the Odyssey, Philoctetes (Sophocles), the Aeneid, and the Metamorphoses (Ovid). For further information about specific reading assignments, registering for Prof. Williams’s colloquium, or about the Friends more generally, please write to Ms. Lisette Oblitas:
[email protected]