2012 Ross M. Lence Master Teacher: Robert C. Bartlett
Robert Bartlett is the inaugural holder of the Behrakis Professorship of Hellenic Political Studies in the Department of Political Science at Boston College. Prior to joining Boston College, he served as the Arthur Blank/National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Professor at Emory University.
A graduate of the University of Toronto, Professor Bartlett holds an MA in Classics and a PhD in Political Science from Boston College. He is the author or editor of six books, including most recently a new edition of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (with Susan D. Collins). He has published in the leading journals of political science, including the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and the Review of Politics. He is at work on a study of ancient relativism and the Socratic response to it as presented by Plato.
Join us for the 2012 Lence Residency events, including the following:
- Thursday, April 12 (5:30 pm) - “Translating Aristotle’s Ethics in the Modern Age” The Honors College and the Phronesis program host a public lecture in the Honors College Commons for students, faculty, and alumni, led by Professor Bartlett and Honors Professor Susan Collins on their recent translation.
- Friday, April 13 (noon) - Professor Bartlett presents a public lecture in Cemo Hall: “Ancients and Moderns on the Problem of Chance”
- Friday, April 13 (6:00 pm) - The Honors College presents the Lence Master Teacher Dinner, where Professor Bartlett will lecture on “Liberal Education and the Five Essential Questions.” Tickets for the dinner are $50; RSVP by mailing the RSVP card to The Honors College - Lence Residency, 212 MD Anderson Library, Houston, TX, 77204-2001 or by contacting Beth Kungel Borck at bkborck@uh.edu or 713.743.3220.
NOTE: Copies of Bartlett's recent book, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (with Prof. Sue Collins) will be available for purchase ($10, check or exact change appreciated) and autograph at these events.
Ross M. Lence
I attempt to lead my students on a journey of the mind. Some days are good; some days are not so good. But every day I remind myself that teaching is like missionary work, and that I am the messenger, not the message. I constantly strive to bring others to see the excitement, as well as the limits, offered by the life of the mind. I encourage all students to be bold in their thoughts, moderate in their actions, and courageous in their pursuit of truth—wherever it is and however it can be known.
Dr. Lence’s career was marked by his commitment to the transformative effect of undergraduate education. He brought with him each and every day a profound energy and intense interest in books and young people. His mode of interaction was conversational, his style provocative, and his dedication to students relentless. He evoked from them an eagerness to work at their highest level, and he challenged colleagues to put aside old habits and conventional ways of looking at things.
Each academic year, The Lence Master Teacher Residency Program invites a “master teacher” to the Honors College at the University of Houston to engage with students, faculty, alumni, and friends of the Honors College. This conference-like engagement spans the course of a week and features lectures for Honors College courses; workshops with faculty, students, and alumni on key texts in the Western intellectual tradition; informal small group discussions; lunches, receptions, and other social engagements. In particular, the Residency will provide a venue for an annual reunion of dedicated students and friends of Professor Ross Lence.
Reminiscent of the “writer-in-residence” model, the Lence Master Teacher Residency program invites a scholar to the University and the City to share the intellectual and personal characteristics of Professor Ross M. Lence, the man in whose memory this series is created.
To make a contribution to the Honors College or for additional information, contact Beth Kungel Borck in the Honors College at 713.743.3220 or bkborck@uh.edu.
