Join us in Auerbach 321 at the University of Hartford or online this Wednesday, March 5, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., for our next meeting of the Philosophy Club as UHart alumna Margaret Rundle reads and discusses her poetry with us.
Margaret Rundle, received her PhD in Literature the University of Oxford in England, completing her doctoral dissertation on “The Ideal and the Real in Thomas Carlyle’s Early Theory."
From growing up in an academic family through her studies at the University of Hartford, Grenoble, France, the Sorbonne, and finally Oxford, Rundle considers poetry to have always been her leitmotif. It was what she turned to especially during hard times. Through it all she has developed a remarkable ability to appreciate and encourage the poetry of others, all along quietly developing her own empathic style which reaches out to every heart while drawing from a wide variety of sources.
Her study at the University of Hartford included a triple major B.A. (Magna Cum Laude) in English Literature, French Literature, and Drama; and a Master’s Degree in English Literature.
As a Literary Arts educator, Rundle first made her mark here at her own alma mater teaching multi-year stints sandwiched around her doctoral commitment at Oxford. During her time teaching here she served five years as adjunct professor in the English Department, before leaving for Oxford to begin her doctorate. Upon her return, she served for six years as Co-Director of the Creative Writing Workshop. Her final year here was spent as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Presidents’ College.
Ultimately, she chose to sacrifice her career aspirations to become for decades the primary caretaker first for her disabled mother, then for her sister, who suffered from the debilitating effects of both Downs Syndrome and Alzheimers, and of whose long-term experience in the Camphill Village community of Copake, New York, she speaks glowingly.
Margaret Rundle was a member of a number of literary societies, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada, the Modern Language Association, The Carlyle Society, the Northeast Victorian Studies Association, the Midwest Vistorian Studies Association.
Politically, she has been a member of the National Council Women of Great Britain, the League of Women Voters, Nuclear Freeze, an area organizer for the Edmund Muskie presidential campaign of 1972 in Keene, N.H., and later a volunteer in George McGovern’s Presidential Campaign.
She sang in the Hartford Chorale from 1979–84. She enjoys hiking, swimming, dance, and drama.
She has been a dedicated member of the University Hartford Philosophy Club for the past ten years.
The University of Hartford Philosophy Club has an informal, jovial atmosphere. It is a place where students, professors, and people from the community at large meet as peers. Sometimes presentations are given, followed by discussion. Other times, topics are hashed out by the whole group.
Presenters may be students, professors, or people from the community. Anyone can offer to present a topic. The mode of presentation may be as formal or informal as the presenter chooses.
Come and go as you wish. Bring friends. Suggest topics and activities. Take over the club! It belongs to you! Just show up! - Brian Skelly (bskelly@hartford.edu; 413.273.2273).