Biography
Amy Thomas Elder holds a BS in biology and advanced degrees in classics and the study of religion. Her research at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago dealt with allegory and textual interpretation in early Christianity. For many years, she taught in and directed the Odyssey Project, a college-level humanities program for adults living on low incomes, as part of the Bard College Clemente Course. Currently, she is working with colleagues to develop the Basic Program End(s) of Humanity initiative, exploring what the humanities—and more specifically, the reading and discussion of “great” (humanistic) texts—have to do with understanding our current historical situation—and especially, with the task of understanding and responding meaningfully to current “existential threats.” She has been a Basic Program instructor since 1999.