The Honors Program this week hosted U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant Ryan Stitt, a public historian and podcast producer of “The History of Ancient Greece,” one of the best known podcasts on that subject with more than two million downloads in 175 countries.
Stitt, who studied classical languages and ancient history at the University of Alabama and began postgraduate work in classics at UCLA before commissioning into the United States Air Force, talked with Honors students on Mon., Oct. 22 about Plato’s Symposium and also led a convocation on his background in college, how he got into podcasting, and his experience in the military.
Director of Honors Dr. Jonathan Thorndike said, “Ancient Greece is especially fascinating as a subject because of the great characters like Achilles, Athena and Odysseus. Ancient Greece is the beginning of Western civilization, democracy, literature, philosophy, science, medicine, art, architecture and so many subjects we value. All we have to do is walk around Belmont’s campus or anywhere in Washington, D.C. to see the indelible impact of Greek and Roman culture on how we view ourselves and the values that we hold. The study of history allows us to understand where we began.”
A fan of history podcasts, Stitt decided to start “The History of Ancient Greece” Podcast–which addresses a wide range of topics in Greek social, political and cultural history–after finding there were few comprehensive podcasts devoted to ancient Greece. From the Hellenistic culture and literature to the work behind podcasting an episode, Stitt shared his passion for history and technology with students.
“Public historians are more influential than famous academic historians because they design monuments, lead tours, talk with visitors to historical sites, and produce videos and audio programs,” said Thorndike. “Podcasting, audio books, movies and video games have taken off so that people are able to learn a lot about history through many diverse electronic mediums in addition to the classic texts and books. We live in a world of augmented reality and great movies, shows, games and audio books that can teach anyone willing to learn.”
Belmont University student Hannah Kerr is no stranger to taking big stages. Having previously toured in 2016, she has already shared the stage with Christian artists such as Casting Crowns, For King & Country and Newsboys. With the holiday season approaching, Kerr will have the opportunity to take the stage again as she opens for Casting Crowns on their “It’s Finally Christmas Tour.”
Dean of Belmont’s Jack C. Massey College of Business Dr. Pat Raines was the subject of the “Scrubbing In” podcast this week. Created by SpecialtyCare (a Brentwood, Tennessee-based provider of outsourced clinical services to hospitals and other healthcare providers), Scrubbing In is a podcast about innovation in the operating room, speaking to industry leaders and those making changes in both healthcare and the OR.
Chris Hodgin, a freshman religion and the arts and music business double major from McKinney, Texas, said, “I worked with three of our buddies, whose names were Mark, Carolyn and Steven. We played a lot of games with them, like Uno and Jenga, and later that night we also had a dinner party with them, where we sang songs together and ate food. From this experience, I learned that there I people who I naturally tend to alienate merely because they are different than me, and that when I intentionally try to remove the mental barriers that keep me from loving them and enjoying spending time with them, I find that they’re a lot more similar to me than I had ever imagined.”
At the start of each fall semester, Dr. Christi Williams, associate professor in the School of Physical Therapy, fellow 2005 alumna and former classmate of Amber’s, shares Garrett’s story with the current PT students. “I feel strongly that there is something special here at Belmont, and we refer to it as the ‘Belmont PT Family,'” she said. “This ‘family’ serves to support you when you need it most.”
Belmont’s College of Entertainment and Music Business recently hosted a spiritual development retreat, Forge, where students from the college learned spiritual practices useful for life and work in the entertainment industry and beyond. The retreat was held at the Belmont Ministry Center and was supported by faculty members Amy Smith, Mark Maxwell and Viviana Goelkel; staff members Rebecca Berkowitz, Angela Breedon, Kellie Meeks and Ileia Hook; University Ministries leaders Heather Daugherty and Christy Ridings and College administrators Dean Doug Howard and Associate Dean Dr. Cheryl Slay Carr.
Professor of Media Studies Dr. Sybril Brown served as the keynote speaker for the 30th anniversary celebration of Cincinnati marketing agency DeanHouston. The event was held this week at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, also in Cincinnati.