Mary Catherine Bateson

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MONMOUTH, Ill. — Author and anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson will deliver the Sam Thompson Lecture at Monmouth College on March 26 at 7 p.m. in the Kasch Performance Hall of the college’s Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.

In a lecture entitled “Composing Community,” Bateson will examine what kinds of communication can hold society together as it becomes more diverse and more subject to rapid change. The lecture is free and open to the public, as is a reception and book signing which follows.

Bateson follows in the footsteps of her legendary parents, anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. A renowned writer and cultural anthropologist in her own right, she divides her time between New Hampshire and Massachusetts, where she recently completed three years as a visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has written and co-authored many books and articles, and is perhaps best known for “Composing a Life,” a New York Times paperback bestseller.

A frequent lecturer in the United States and abroad, Bateson is president of the Institute for Intercultural Studies in New York City, established by her mother in 1944. Until recently she was the Clarence J. Robinson Professor in Anthropology and English at George Mason University, and is now professor emerita. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College.

Samuel Thompson, for whom the lecture series is named, served in the philosophy department at Monmouth College for 46 years. After graduating from MC with a degree in English in 1924, he earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in philosophy from Princeton University. Most notable among his publications were two popular textbooks: “A Modern Philosophy of Religion” and “The Nature of Philosophy.” Thompson died in 1983.

Released by the Office of College Communications
Barry McNamara, Associate Director of College Communications
Phone: 309-457-2117
Fax: 309-457-2330