Dr. Stephen Smith

Love and Fire: Education of Soul in Dante's Divine Comedy
September 24, 2024 in the Sojourner Truth Auditorium

Reception at 6 PM in the Old Narthex, Siebenthaler Campus

Talk at 7 PM in the Sojourner Truth Auditorium, Siebenthaler Campus

About the Speaker

Dr. Stephen Smith is Temple Chair of English Literature and Dean of Humanities at Hillsdale College. He teaches literature, with a focus on the works of Thomas More, William Shakespeare, John Milton, and Dante. Following Dante’s lead, he hopes to share “a little spark” of real fire and fresh desire with others through his teaching. He wants his students to begin a lifelong friendship with these great authors, who have so much wit and solid wisdom to offer us on living well and happily, especially in stormy times.

With Gerard Wegemer, Dr. Smith serves as co-director of the Center for Thomas More Studies and co-editor of The Essential Works of Thomas More (Yale University Press, 2020). In addition to essays and reviews in scholarly journals, he has published on More, Shakespeare, and Dante in The Wall Street Journal.  He has lectured widely across the country on the importance of the humanities and the benefits of studying great literature with wonder, care, and delight.  His online classes on Shakespeare and Dante have been enjoyed by students old and new around the US and globe, though he’s not sure if his own dear mother has watched them yet. Steve and his wife, Laura, live in Hillsdale with their four children, Will, Nicholas, Thomas, and Grace – and a new dog named Rosie.