Monthly Muse

Spotlighted Professor: Professor Geoffrey Benson

        This is Professor Geoffrey Benson’s first year here at Colgate University. Professor Benson attended Princeton University and earned his PhD from the University of Chicago. He has been interested in the classical era since he was a little boy. In my time with him, Professor Benson described to me a show about underwater archeology and Santorini that he encountered as a child that started his captivation with the field. He was raised in Chicago, where he frequented museums such as the Field Museum and the Oriental Institute. His doctorial work focused on The Golden Ass, a classical novel by Apuleius. The novel centers on a young man named Lucius, who is transformed into a donkey and goes on a series of adventures. Benson’s work with the piece focused on the concept of invisibility and vulnerability within the novel, along with the effects of pain and change on the spirits of young people. 

GET-TO-KNOW PROFESSOR BENSON:

If you were a figure from classical Greece/Rome, who would you be and why?

It would be alluring to enter Archimedes' mind when he was designing machines to fight off the Romans during the siege of Syracuse (214-212 BCE). And I like to think that part of The Apuleius has been reincarnated in me. But if I could be anyone from Classical Greece/Rome, it would have to be Alcibiades. I would use on occasion to gather material for a screenplay for the next great HBO series - the Peloponnesian War through the eyes of Alcibiades and Socrates.

What is something you want to do in Hamilton that you haven't done yet?

I'm looking forward to doing some cross-country skiing and ice-skating this winter.

What is one thing you didn't expect when you first came to Hamilton?

I thought the world was ending the first time I heard the siren for the volunteer fire department.

What profession other than teaching would you be interested in trying?

Well, I'm planning to run for Mayor of the city of Chicago in 2043, so I guess I'd be getting a head start on my campaign.

If you could have dinner with any classical figure who would it be and why?

I would take Herodotus on a culinary tour in a major American city - New York, Chicago, San Francisco, et cetera. What would impress him? Would he marvel at the fact that people are still reading The Histories? It would be a pleasure to watch him talk with the people we meet, and I would encourage him to write about his experiences.

Favorite book?

I love The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson. This novel was published in Sweden during World War II, and its about the voyages and adventures of Röde Orm, a 10th century Viking. From the safety of your couch, you join Orm as he fights his way through Northern Europe and Spain, feasts, falls in love, and searches for Bulgar Gold.

Favorite movie?

The Chicagoan in me would say either Hoop Dreams, a documentary about two inner-city, high school basketball players struggling to get a scholarships, or The Fugitive, Dr. Richard Kimble (a.k.a. Harrison Ford) lives two blocks from where I grew up, and I remember watching the filming of The Fugitive when I was a kid. I'm also a sucker for submarine movies - Das Boot, Crimson Tide.
 

Favorite Snack?

Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds are tasty!