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Philosophy and Religious Studies

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Goodbye and thankyou to Dr Roger Sworder

The staff and students of the Philosophy and Religious Studies program would like to thank Dr Sworder for his contribution to the La Trobe University Bendigo community over the past thirty-six years. His reputation as an excellent and inspirational teacher is widely known and he will be sorely missed. 

Roger Sworder graduated Master of Arts from the University of Oxford, taking his degree in the study of Classical Philosophy and History in the original languages. He undertook doctoral studies at the Australian National University with a thesis on Plato’s theory of knowledge.  Dr Sworder played a substantial role in the establishment of the Philosophy and Religious Studies program at La Trobe University. His teaching covered such areas as Greek Mythology and Philosophy, Enlightenment and Romantic thought and—perhaps his most significant class—the Philosophy of Work and Art. 

Dr Sworder has published works including: Mining, Metallurgy and the Meaning of Life, Homer on Immortality: the Journey of Odysseus as a Path to Perfection and Science and Religion in Archaic Greece.

Dr Sworder has been a role model to those around him. He personally demonstrated to students, peers and the wider Bendigo community that there is always more to learn in life. He claimed at last year’s Eye of the Heart journal launch that his "real learning" did not begin in a prestigious university, rather when he arrived in Bendigo and met the colleagues with whom he would later establish the Philosophy and Religious Studies program.

Dr Sworder consistently illustrated the importance of work and the enduring relevance of classical thought and learning. Once again, we offer our thanks to Dr Roger Sworder for his many years service to La Trobe University Bendigo and wish him all the best for his future endeavours.