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GONZAGA UNIVERSITY NEWS FEATURE

Erik Schmidt, Ph.D.

“I’ve always had a passion for art and philosophy and it didn’t take long for them to intersect,” says Erik Schmidt, a Gonzaga assistant professor of philosophy who has shown special interest in the philosophy of art.

Schmidt, who has taught at Gonzaga since 2003, says his interest in the philosophy of art started as a youngster and has continued although few classes were offered on the hybrid subject. While earning a Ph.D. at Syracuse University, he found some classes, and was asked by Syracuse to teach a class on the topic.

Now, at Gonzaga, Schmidt continues the class. His first course focused on the visual arts. Now he's developing courses about philosophy and Shakespeare. Very few writers, he says, are as philosophically rich as Shakespeare, so molding a class about his work was relatively easy.

“I think drama has the power to simultaneously engage us as a participant and an observer, which are two very basic ways we experience and engage in the world,” he says.

Schmidt and Michael Pringle, Gonzaga associate professor of English, will discuss Shakespeare’s influence from the disciplines of philosophy and literature in the presentation titled, “What Can We Learn from Shakespeare,” 7-9 p.m., Monday, March 23 in the Wolff Auditorium at Gonzaga’s Jepson Center.

“My primary goal is to explain why I find Shakespeare’s plays amazing from my perspective as a philosopher,” Schmidt says.

March @Gonzaga Newsletter