Dr. Amanda Ruud is a Lilly Postdoctoral Fellow and lecturer in English at Valparaiso University. She is a scholar of the English Renaissance, with a focus on Shakespeare and rhetoric, but she teaches widely in world literature, philosophy, and history through the first year program at Christ College, the honors college at Valparaiso. Whether in a discussion-based literature course or in a writing and research course for Business majors and Engineers, Amanda’s pedagogy encourages students to practice sustained, joyful, and rigorous inquiry, and to value excellence and growth. Outside of the classroom, Amanda seeks to build community around prayer, poetry, and the culinary arts. Join us as we ask questions about how literature engages our emotions and imaginations, how history and tradition influence literature, and how literature speaks to the human condition.