For the annual Reeves Lecture at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Professor of English Jeffrey Hammond will explore the human fascination with apocalypse in his talk, “The Sense of an Ending: Some Reflections on the End of the World.” Hammond will consider in his talk why people have been so drawn to apocalyptic possibilities throughout the ages. The lecture will take place on October 5 at 8:00 p.m. in the college’s Cole Cinema as a part of Hawktoberfest at Family Weekend. It is free and open to the public.
“People have always pondered the end of the world – and throughout history, many have convinced themselves that it’s right around the corner,” Hammond said. “Why has the apocalyptic mindset been so persistent in Western thought?”
Hammond is the George B. Reeves and Willma Reeves Distinguished Professor in the Liberal Arts, and has been a professor of American literature, biblical and classical literature, and nonfiction writing at St. Mary’s College since 1990. He has published numerous scholarly articles and three books on early American literature, including “The American Puritan Elegy: A Literary and Cultural Study” (Cambridge University Press, 2000). Hammond’s literary nonfiction has appeared in numerous journals and has won two Pushcart Prizes, Shenandoah’s Carter Prize for Essay and the Missouri Review Editors’ Prize. In his book “This Place Where We Are” (St. Mary’s Press, 2006), Hammond reflects on St. Mary’s College and its mission. His most recent book is “Little Big World: Collecting Louis Marx and the American Fifties” (University of Iowa Press, 2010).