Lecture—"American Odyssey: What an Ancient Story Reveals About Our Divided Souls"

The ancient story of The Odyssey addresses fundamentally human questions of home, ambition, vengeance, and mercy. Yet as political philosopher Patrick Deneen reveals, it is also the most American of classical texts. Like Odysseus, the American identity is defined by a core tension: a simultaneous commitment to the comfort of home and the drive to leave it behind. In this compelling presentation, Deneen uses the lens of Western inheritance to unpack the divided soul of the American character. Arriving alongside the U. S. semi-quincentennial, his book offers a timely look at how an ancient Greek epic continues to shape our greatest stories, our cultural politics, and our national identity today. We will begin our evening with Prof. Deneen with book sales and signing at 6:15 p.m. ET in the atrium of the Eck Visitors Center. Following the conclusion of Prof. Deneen's remarks at 8:15 p.m., all event attendees are welcome to join us for a light reception. Patrick J. Deneen holds a B. A. in English literature and a Ph. D. in political science from Rutgers University. From 1995–97 he was speechwriter and special advisor to the director of the United States Information Agency. From 1997–2005 he was assistant professor of politics at Princeton University. From 2005–2012 he was the Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University, before joining the faculty of Notre Dame in fall 2012. He is the author and editor of several books and numerous articles and reviews and has delivered invited lectures around the world. Deneen was awarded the APSA's Leo Strauss Award for Best Dissertation in Political Theory in 1995, and an honorable mention for the APSA's Best First Book Award in 2000. He has been awarded research fellowships from Princeton University, Earhart Foundation, and the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Virginia. His teaching and writing interests focus on the history of political thought, American political thought, liberalism, conservatism, and constitutionalism. His widely-discussed 2018 book, Why Liberalism Failed, has been translated into over twenty languages and was praised by former President Barack Obama. Originally published at constudies.nd.edu.