Barack Obama & Philip II of Macedon (5 of 5)

April 17, 2009 - Bruce Thornton, classicist and professor at California State University, Fresno, gave the morning keynote address in the Hauenstein Center's conference, "Barack Obama and the Lessons of Antiquity." He presented a paper on President Obama's foreign policy, "Diplomacy and Appeasement: Philip II of Macedon and the Loss of Greek Freedom."

Dr. Thornton, a native of Fresno County, received his B.A. in Latin from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1975, and his Ph.D. in comparative literature (Greek, Latin, and English) from UCLA in 1983.

He is the author of numerous essays and reviews on Greek culture and civilization and their influence on Western civilizations, and also has written on contemporary political and educational issues. His writings have appeared in The National Review Online, Heterodoxy, The National Herald, Arion, The San Francisco Examiner, The American Enterprise Magazine, The University Bookman, Religious Studies Review, Intercollegiate Review, The Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, Helios, and the American Journal of Philology.

Thornton is the author of numerous books, including "Searching for Joaquin: Myth and History in California" (2002); "Bonfire of the Humanities. Rescuing the Classics in an Impoverished Age," with John Heath and Victor Davis Hanson (2001); "Greek Ways. How the Greeks Created Western Civilization" (2000); "Plagues of the Mind: The New Epidemic of False Knowledge" (1999); and "Eros the Killer: The Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality" (1997).

Thornton is a frequent guest on talk radio shows across the nation, has lectured at venues such as The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and appears regularly on ABC’s “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher.” He is a regular contributor to the popular conservative Web site www.CaliforniaRepublic.org, commenting on societal trends, cultural issues and news events.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• iran
• nuclear
• power
• bomb
• coercion
• unilateral
• multilateral
• multilateralism
• ancient
• world
• president
• barack
• obama
• presidency