Joseph Ronan

Joseph Ronan is an attorney living in Sharon, Vermont with his wife, a retired neurologist who is now a visual artist and part-time ski instructor. Joseph was educated at Friends Select School in Philadelphia, has a BA in philosophy from Haverford College, a JD and LLM from NYU Law School, and an MA in English (thesis on Wallace Stevens) from Rutgers-Camden. He is now working on an MA in philosophy. He professes no special insight into Irish poetry, just a high degree of interest.

Irish Poetry—The Shadow of W. B. Yeats (Winter Term 2024)

Participant Testimonials:

Having never studied poetry before, I was there to learn, and learned a lot from Joe and the participants who shared their thoughts and interpretations.  Great class!

The course was a balance between Yeats and poets who came before and after.  The selections were well-considered and all worth reading. 

Masters of English Language Poetry (Winter Term 2021) 

Participant Testimonials: 

Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics in Today’s Disjointed World (Spring Term 2020)

Participant Testimonials:

Joe is knowledgeable. I admire and respect his knowledge. He always had a plan.

I am a “novice” regarding Aristotelian ethics and politics so I was mostly in listening/learning mode which was my objective in taking the course. It certainly met my objectives in this regard.

Introduction to Aesthetics: How Can We Know What Beauty Is? (Winter Term 2020)

Participant Testimonials:

Loved having the Philosophy professor, Neurologist and trip to Hood all three contributed to understand the subject.  

It was wonderful to view works of art in a thoughtful, thorough manner while engaging with fellow students.

The Poetry of T.S. Eliot and Wallace Stevens: Immortal Modernists or Just Dead Old White Guys? (Winter Term 2019)

Participant Testimonials:

The connections Joe made between the language of the poems and the life experiences of the poet worked very well.

One of the best courses I've taken because of Joe—great depth of knowledge, knows when to guide the class and when to let it go where it's going.

Aristotle's Ethics: What is a Good Life? (Spring Term 2018)

Participant Testimonials:

Relaxed and informative with good class discussion. Mr. Rowan was very knowledgeable and a good presenter.

The discussions went very well, Pro. Ronan in addition to presenting well was able to respond to questions that were not referred to in our readings and keep us from going to far afield.