Editorial Staff

BBC Classics Prof. Bettany Hughes on Athenian Democracy, Socrates, & the Goddess Aphrodite

/in , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Gerard and Cara talk with Professor Bettany Hughes, award-winning historian, BBC broadcaster, and author of the best-selling books Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore; The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens, and the Search for the Good Life; and Venus and Aphrodite: History of a Goddess. Prof. Hughes shares insights from her most recent book about the ancient deity known as Venus to Romans and Aphrodite to the Greeks, and her impact on our understanding of the mythology and history of beauty, romance, and passion. She discusses Aphrodite’s mythical role in sparking the Trojan War, portrayals of her across Western culture, and enduring lessons. They then turn to the ancient Greeks’ contributions to the foundations of Western philosophy, poetry, and government, and why studying classics, including figures like Socrates, is vital for education in the 21st century. And they explore the timeless wisdom and cautionary lessons all of us can draw from studying ancient Athenian democracy, Sparta, and the civic life of Greek city-states, the West’s earliest models of self-government. She concludes with a reading from her book, Venus and Aphrodite.

Stories of the Week: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed the Hope Scholarship bill, providing publicly funded education savings accounts for public school students who enroll in private or home school. Heritage Foundation’s Lindsey Burke writes about a controversial new ethnic studies curriculum for K-12 students, adopted by the California State Board of Education.

The next episode will air on Wednesday, April 14th, 2021 at 12 pm ET with guest Jay Mathews, education columnist for The Washington Post and author of the recent book, An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education.

Guest:

Professor Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author, and broadcaster, who has devoted the last 25 years to the vibrant communication of the past. Her speciality is ancient and mediaeval history and culture. Her first book, Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore has been translated into ten languages. Her second, The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens, and the Search for the Good Life was a New York Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the Writer’s Guild Award. Her third, Istanbul – A Tale of Three Cities was shortlisted for the Runciman Award, was a Sunday Times bestseller, and been translated into twelve languages. Her most recent book is Venus and Aphrodite: History of a Goddess – currently shortlisted for The Runciman Prize. Hughes has written and presented over 50 TV and radio documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, Netflix, Discovery, PBS, The History Channel, National Geographic, BBC World, ITV, and her programmes have now been seen by over 500 million worldwide. She was named as one of the BBC’s 100 Global Women, and as a commentator she is asked to contribute to The New York Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times, Prospect Magazine, and The New Statesman. In 2017, she was chosen as one of London’s 20 most influential cultural people by the Evening Standard in their 1000 awards. In 2019, Bettany became Chair of the Man Booker International Prize for Fiction, and was awarded an Order of the British Empire for services to history. In 2020, she was given Europe’s prestigious Cultural Heritage Award – the first ever woman to receive this honour.

Tweet of the Week

Get new episodes of The Learning Curve in your inbox!

Browse recent episodes:

Cornell’s Margaret Washington on Sojourner Truth, Abolitionism, & Women’s Rights

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview Margaret Washington, the esteemed historian and author of Sojourner Truth’s America. Prof. Washington delves into Truth’s remarkable life, from her early years in slavery in New York to her transformation into a powerful abolitionist, women’s rights advocate, and religiously driven reformer. She explores Northern slavery, the Second Great Awakening, her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, and her Civil War-era activism. Prof. Washington also reflects on Truth’s enduring legacy as a symbol of justice, equality, and resilience in American history. In closing, Prof. Washington reads a passage from her book, Sojourner Truth’s America.

UK Oxford & ASU’s Sir Jonathan Bate on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet & Love

In this special St. Valentine's Day episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview renowned Shakespeare scholar Professor Sir Jonathan Bate to discuss the timeless tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Exploring its enduring greatness, Sir Jonathan delves into Shakespeare’s classical influences, particularly Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and how Elizabethan literature shaped the portrayal of lovers. 

Steven Wilson on The Lost Decade: Returning to the Fight for Better Schools in America

In this episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview Steven Wilson, a senior fellow at Pioneer Institute and a leading voice in education reform. Mr. Wilson discusses his journey into K-12 education policy, reflecting on his early work with Gov. Bill Weld and the landmark 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA), which helped propel the state’s schools to national and international success. He explores the intersection of K-12 curricula with race- and class-based politics and discusses themes from his upcoming book, The Lost Decade.

U-Pitt.’s Marcus Rediker on Amistad Slave Rebellion & Black History Month

In this episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview historian Marcus Rediker, Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh and author of The Amistad Rebellion. Prof. Rediker explores the 1839 slave revolt aboard the schooner La Amistad. He recounts the leadership of Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinqué) and the wider history and human toll of the transatlantic slave trade. 

Notre Dame Law Assoc. Dean Nicole Stelle Garnett on Catholic Schools & School Choice

In this episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview Nicole Stelle Garnett, Associate Dean and John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, and a national expert in education law and school choice. Dean Garnett discusses the vital role Catholic education plays in fostering faith, community, and the pursuit of “the true, the good, and the beautiful.” She explores the challenges posed by the decline of Catholic schools in urban areas, as outlined in her book Lost Classroom, Lost Community: Catholic Schools' Importance in Urban America, and highlights policy solutions such as expanding educational choice options to support Catholic school families.

Alexandra Popoff on Vasily Grossman & Holocaust Remembrance

In this special Holocaust Remembrance Day episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and the Heritage Foundation's Jason Bedrick interview Alexandra Popoff, a former Moscow journalist and acclaimed biographer. Ms. Popoff delves into the life and legacy of Vasily Grossman, a 20th-century Jewish Soviet writer and journalist. She explores Grossman's transition from chemical engineering to writing, influenced by his Jewish heritage and the historical context of the time.

Stanford’s Lerone Martin on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & the Civil Rights Movement

In this special MLK Day episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Prof. Lerone Martin, Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor at Stanford University and Director of the MLK Research and Education Institute. Dr. Martin offers deep insights into the life and legacy of Dr. King.

ExcelinEd’s Dr. Kymyona Burk on Mississippi, Early Literacy, & Reading Science

This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Dr. Kymyona Burk, Senior Policy Fellow at ExcelinEd and former state literacy director for Mississippi. Dr. Burk shares insights from her remarkable career in K-12 education reform. She discusses her journey from classroom teacher to leading transformative literacy initiatives in Mississippi that resulted in groundbreaking improvements in early literacy and NAEP reading scores.

Harvard’s Leo Damrosch on Alexis de Tocqueville & Democracy in America

This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Leo Damrosch, the Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature Emeritus at Harvard University and author of "Tocqueville’s Discovery of America". Prof. Damrosch delves into Alexis de Tocqueville’s historic nine-month journey through the United States in 1831–1832, which inspired his masterpiece, "Democracy in America".

UK’s John Suchet, OBE, on Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, & Ballets

This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Dr. Jocelyn Chadwick interview distinguished British television journalist, author, and Classic FM presenter, John Suchet, OBE. Mr. Suchet explores the life and legacy of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, one of Russia's greatest composers. He shares insights into Tchaikovsky’s upbringing, his late start in composing, and the emotional challenges that shaped his career and music.