Acclaimed Writer William Deresiewicz to Speak at Williams College

Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, executive assistant; tele: 413-597-4277; email: [email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., February 18, 2019—American author, essayist, and literary critic William Deresiewicz will present the lecture “Change Your Mind First: College and the Urge to Save the World” at Williams College. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in Griffin Hall, room 3. A book signing will follow.

Deresiewicz has written on such topics as books, higher education, culture, and politics. His books include A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things that Really Matter (Penguin Books, 2011) and Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life (Free Press, 2014). His article “The Disadvantages of an Elite Education,” along with his speech “Solitude and Leadership,” have gone viral on the internet.

Deresiewicz was on the faculty at Yale University where he taught courses in modern British fiction, Great Books, Indian fiction, and writing, among other areas, from 1998 to 2008. He left academia to write full-time. In addition to his books, Deresiewicz has written numerous essays and contributed to multiple podcasts. His All Points blog appeared on the American Scholar website from March 2011 to September 2013. In it, he divulges that his life was forever changed and he became a better person after reading Jane Austen for the first time at age 26. He appeared on the Colbert Report in 2014.

This event is sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa and the Gaudino Fund.

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Published February 18, 2019