Plato, the Parthenon, and Liberal Education
Monday, April 15, 2019 9:45 am – 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4Location: TBA, The University of Chicago
A workshop based on Geoff Lehman’s and Michael Weinman’s The Parthenon and Liberal Education (2018)
On April 15, 2019, the University of Chicago is hosting a day-long event which brings together philosophers, art historians, classicists, and historians of science for a workshop on Geoff Lehman’s and Michael Weinman’s book The Parthenon and Liberal Education (2018).
The event is organized by BCB alumni/ae David Kretz (BA 2016), Ena M. Gojak (BA 2012) and Xinyue Zhang (BA 2018), who are currently enrolled in postgraduate programs at the University of Chicago.
The book connects Plato’s Republic and Timaeus, as well as the architecture of the Parthenon through their shared reception of Pythagorean thought (in turn inspired by Near Eastern mathematics). Lehman and Weinman find in these three instances of classical culture both a theoretical account and physical embodiment of an idea of liberal arts education that ‘unites the problem-based knowledge procedures of mathematical technai with the theoretical reflection of philosophy.’ They challenge us to inquire anew into the place of the exact sciences in a liberal arts curriculum.
The first session will be devoted to Plato’s Republic and Timaeus, the second will focus on the Parthenon, the third will turn to questions of liberal education in Ancient Greece and today.
All sessions are open to all. A précis of the book’s argument will be made available in advance on the conference website. Light refreshments will be provided.
Date & time: Monday, April 15, 2019; 9:45am- 7:00pm
Venue: The University of Chicago
(exact location TBA)
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