Academic Year 2013-2014
Fall 2013
William Deresiewicz is a much sought-after speaker, essayist, and author of articles on higher education, literary criticism and leadership. One of his most famous pieces is entitled “Solitude and Leadership,” originally a lecture delivered at West Point, which has been widely disseminated on the Internet. During his time at Claremont McKenna College, Professor Deresiewicz met with groups of students and faculty across various disciplines and was generally available on campus throughout the month of November. He also spoke at the Athenaeum in November in a talk titled “What is College For? A Defense of the Liberal Arts.”
August Kleinzahler is a prize-winning poet and essayist, based in San Francisco, who has taught at CMC before. He spent the entire semester as a writer in residence at CMC, teaching two literature courses and meeting with faculty and students. He also spoke at the Athenaeum in a talk titled “August Kleinzahler Reads from the Hotel Oneida.” Kleinzahler is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Griffin Poetry Prize, and the Berlin Prize.
Spring 2014
Mary Gaitskill is a novelist, short-story writer, and essayist whose work has been published in such magazines as The New Yorker, Esquire, and Harper’s. She has been nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award and was National Book Award Finalist, among other honors. She taught creative writing and literature and spoke at the Athenaeum during “An Evening with the Author.”
Daniel Mendelsohn, a Professor of Humanities at Bard College, is one of America’s most distinguished classicists as well as the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for his memoir entitled The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, which deals with the author’s attempt to uncover the mystery and tragedy of his family members who perished in the Holocaust. Professor Mendelsohn was in residence in February, meeting with faculty and students from literature, history, government, and religious studies. He spoke at the Athenaeum in a talk titled “An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic.”
Volker Stanzel, who was German Ambassador to Japan through the end of October 2013, spent the Spring semester at CMC as a visiting scholar at the Keck Center and taught a course on East Asian security. Mary Weatherford is an artist represented by distinguished galleries in New York and Los Angeles. Many of her works are related to the evocation of a sense of place. At CMC, she painted “The Claremont Mural” and was artist in residence, allowing students to understand the visual arts from the perspective of a practicing artist.
Mary Weatherford is an artist represented by distinguished galleries in New York and Los Angeles. Many of her works are related to the evocation of a sense of place. At CMC, she painted “The Claremont Mural” and was artist in residence, allowing students to understand the visual arts from the perspective of a practicing artist.