The Great Eight

Emma Weinheimer interviews Mary Johnson about Flannery O'Connor's "The Fiction Writer and His Country" and "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." Prof. Johnson is a professor of English at Mount St. Mary's University. 0:00 Context 8:10 Message vs Story 13:30 The Fiction Writer and His Country 23:45 Parables 29:25 The Life You Save May Be Your Own 35:00 Disabled Charac...

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview John Hersey about Plato's Republic. Dr. Hersey is a professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University. 0:00 Context 8:30 Justice 14:30 Book One 21:00 Thrasymachus 26:30 Personality 29:45 Cave Allegory 38:45 Return to the Cave 43:05 Relation to Justice 48:50 Cardinal Virtues 54:10 Totalitarian?

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Chris Anadale about Nietzsche & Twilight of the Idols. Dr. Anadale is a professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University. 0:00 Background 6:45 Content of Twilight 10:45 Why Read Nietzsche? 20:10 Spiritual Writer? 24:00 Postmodernity 30:10 Will to Power 36:40 Overman 42:00 Education Quote

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Susann Samples about Arthurian Legends. Dr. Samples is a professor of German and Spanish at Mount St. Mary's University. 0:00 Background 10:40 Kalamazoo 17:30 English vs German Versions 21:45 Christian Stories 29:40 Morgan le Fay & Guinevere 32:20 Arthur as an Ideal 39:20 No Single Text 43:00 Historical Arthur

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Stephen McGinley about Beowulf and The Song of Roland. Prof. McGinley is a professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University. Recorded 2020-21 0:00 Introduction 4:20 Context 9:00 Beowulf & Roland 13:50 Human Questions 17:15 Grendel 22:20 Huxley's Brave New World 29:35 Song of Roland 33:40 Chesterton's The Ball and the Cross 35:30...

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Kurt Blaugher about Sophocles' plays Antigone and Philoctetes . Dr. Blaugher is a professor of theater at Mount St. Mary's University. Recorded 2020-21 0:00 Core Curriculum 4:45 Sophocles' Context 9:00 Function in Greek Society 11:40 Antigone 16:30 Divine vs Human Law 21:30 End of the Play 25:30 Philoctetes 30:20 Challenges of Performing...

Emma Weinheimer interviews Paige Hochschild about St. Augustine's Confessions . Dr. Hochschild is a professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary's University. Recorded 2020-21 0:00 Augustine's Context 6:10 Boethius 8:35 Structure of Confessions 16:15 Walkthrough Books 1-9 20:20 Recurring Themes 24:45 Book 2 Community 28:35 Book 3 Manichees 32:30 Book 4 Concubine 34:20 Book 5 Intellectual Pr...

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Barrett Turner about Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan . Dr. Turner is a professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary's University. Recorded 2020-21 0:00 Introduction 6:50 Hobbes' Context 13:02 Political Authority 17:20 Content of Leviathan 20:35 Alternative Salvation 23:17 Logic of the Social Contract 29:47 Liberty without Justice 31:25 Historical Acc...

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Joshua Brown about four books of Chinese thought. Dr. Brown is a professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary's University. Recorded 2020-21 0:00 Introduction 6:00 Context 11:55 Content 20:20 Philosophy vs Theology 23:50 Teaching to Students 26:55 Self-Cultivation 30:00 Reading Advice 32:50 Doctrine of the Mean 38:25 The Great Learning 41:50 Taoism 45...

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Justin Matchulat about St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae . Dr. Matchulat is a professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University. Recorded 2020 0:00 Background 5:55 What Sort of Text 11:10 Theology 14:48 Content Overview 19:50 Other Voices 28:10 Favorite Article 35:00 Stories about St. Thomas 40:20 Reading Advice

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Greg Murry about Machiavelli's The Prince . Dr. Murry is a professor of History at Mount St. Mary's University. Recorded 2020 0:00 Machiavelli's Legacy 6:20 Relevance for Today 10:00 Structure of the Text 15:50 Machiavelli vs Cicero 21:45 Christianity 25:30 Audience 32:50 Student Reactions 38:00 Not Satire 41:40 Great Books 49:05 How Mach...

Emma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Sean Lewis about Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice . Dr. Lewis is a professor of English at Mount St. Mary's University. Recorded 2020 0:00 Core Curriculum 5:20 Shakespeare's Context 10:58 Plot of Merchant of Venice 19:20 Shylock 27:57 Humanizing the Other 32:48 Justice vs Mercy 40:00 Audience Reactions 46:13 Great Books

Emma Belske (Weinheimer) introduces the series: "Hello, I'm Emma Belske. From 2021-2022, while I was a student at Mount St. Mary's University, I interviewed several professors about texts that they love teaching and reading. I'm happy to share these recording with you now, as The Great Eight Podcast. Enjoy!"