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Sept. 25, 2006
Can the gladiator games be considered sport? That question will be addressed by Dr. Heather Reid, associate professor and chair of philosophy at Morningside College, when she presents “Is the Roman Gladiator an Athlete?” on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 11:45 a.m. in the UPS Auditorium of the Lincoln Center, 3627 Peters Avenue.
The free event, which is part of Morningside’s Academic and Cultural Arts Series (ACAS), is open to the public.
Reid’s presentation will open with scenes from the movie “Gladiator” and will address several questions about gladiator combat in light of the contemporary philosophy of Roman Stoicism. She will also present a Stoic critique of athlete autonomy in modern sports.
“I consider questions of parental interference in youth sport, institutional exploitation of collegiate athletes, and whether professional athletes must ‘play for the money’,” said Reid.
The presentation is based on research Reid conducted in January 2005 while serving as visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome (AAR) and is also included in a paper that was published in spring 2006 issue of the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, the official journal of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport (IAPS).
Reid has received international recognition for her expertise on the philosophical foundations of the Olympic Games and is currently writing a book about philosophy and athletics in the ancient world. She is current president of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport (IAPS) and is the author of “The Philosophical Athlete,” published in 2002 by Carolina Academic Press, Durham, N.C.
Reid, who has been at Morningside since 1996, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1986 and a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1994 and 1996, respectively.
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