Gonzaga University’s “What Can We Learn?” lecture series, which focuses on lessons from great thinkers of the past, continues this spring with the topic, “What Can We Learn from Ancient Mythology?”
Gonzaga faculty members Danielle A. Layne, assistant professor of philosophy, and David Oosterhuis, assistant professor of classical civilizations, will discuss the importance and value of ancient mythology in the modern world.
Layne earned a bachelor’s degree in classical studies and philosophy from Loyola University New Orleans (2002) and both her master’s (2004) and doctorate (2009) from University of Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) Belgium. She will discuss the value of myth – disclosing worldviews that guide people’s lives – and will argue against the notion that the use of myths is pointless and false. Using the writings of Plato, she will explore the effective use of myths.
Oosterhuis earned a bachelor’s degree in classics from University of Iowa (1992), a master’s in classics from the University of Minnesota (2003), and a doctorate in classical and near Eastern studies from University of Minnesota (2007). Using narratives that will help members of the audience define themselves and the universe, Oosterhuis will explore the power of storytelling.
The “What Can We Learn” lecture series is co-sponsored by the Robert K. and Ann J. Powers Chair of Humanities and Gonzaga’s College of Arts and Sciences.
This is the 11th consecutive year that Gonzaga has hosted the lecture series on campus.
The free public event starts at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 31 in the Jepson Center’s Wolff Auditorium.
