Charles McNamara

Charles McNamara is a classicist at the University of Minnesota. His most recent book is Learning to Be Fair: Equity from Classical Philosophy to Contemporary Politics.

Article

Not Tragic, Just Sad

The Greek-military historian Victor Davis Hanson attempts to paint Donald Trump as a tragic hero, but his analysis neglects the real meaning of Aristotle’s term.

By Charles McNamara

May 15, 2019

Donald Trump

Poetry

Domestic Affairs

Article

Highbrow Self-Help

A new series occasionally distills ancient texts into soulless banalities that merely flatter and reinforce our twenty-first-century sensibilities

By Charles McNamara

March 1, 2019

Philosophy

Spirituality

Nonfiction

Article

Lead Us Not into Temptation?

Francis isn’t the first to question a key phrase of the Lord’s Prayer

By Charles McNamara

January 1, 2018

Pope Francis

Theology

Liturgy

Article

Aeneid Book VI

Seamus Heaney’s translation of the 'Aeneid' isn't just a fresh version of Virgil’s tale, but also a firsthand account of one who has passed to “nowhere.”

By Charles McNamara

December 19, 2016

Poetry

Article

Last Word: The Resurrection Will Be a Remix

Even when produced with the most meticulous scholarship, our dictionaries ought to remind us that words exceed our best efforts at definition and classification.

By Charles McNamara

October 19, 2016

Theology

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