Paul Wright, Ph.D., applied for a faculty position at Cabrini College in 2006 because he was intrigued by Cabrini's achievements and potential as an institution. After joining the faculty, he was impressed by the vibrant, welcoming community.
"The scale of the college and its commitment to students were definite draws for me," Wright says.
"I'm especially impressed with the close personal attention and support our students receive from faculty—something that is possible only at an institution of our size and educational philosophy."
The cornerstone of a solid liberal arts education is recognizing the past, according to Wright. He encourages his students to detach themselves from the present moment and revisit the past, and the foundations that brought the world to where it is today.
"As a cultural historian and a teacher of literature, I am convinced that genuine education is always fostered by an honest and sometimes agonizing engagement with the past," Wright explains. "As students come to see the deep and abiding roots of the present in the past, they come to see the challenges, rewards, and pleasures of reconstructing that past imaginatively."
Wright, who earned a B.A. in English from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University, currently is researching several projects. He is completing a book-length study of Machiavelli, entitled The Alloy of Identity: Machiavelli's Florentine Histories Reclaimed.
In September 2007, he traveled to Florence, to participate in the European University Institute's seminar on "Comparative and Trans-National Approaches to the History of Europe." In December 2007, he presented a paper on "The 'Future Tense' of Humanist Revolution" at the Modern Language Association Annual Convention.
Wright is an avid reader and cinema fan, and also loves to explore new places in the U.S. and abroad. He lived in Japan for four years, and travels regularly to China and Italy. He is originally from Chicago, and resides in Philadelphia.
Contact information:
Paul Wright, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, English
Co-Director, Honors Program
Grace Hall, Room 212
610-902-8562
paul.wright@cabrini.edu
Website: http://web.mac.com/kikuchiyo5/Paul_Wright,_Ph.D./Homepage.html