Margaret Atwood, author of 'The Handmaids Tale' interviewed by Professor Bedi

Margaret Atwood, the Booker prize-winning author of more than 50 books, packed the 900-seat Spaulding Auditorium yesterday for the Ethics Institute’s annual Dorsett Fellowship Lecture, “In Deepest Dystopia.”

The institute, established in 1982 by a group of Dartmouth faculty to foster the study and teaching of ethics through public programs, fellowships, and research funding, often invites distinguished guests to campus to discuss their work. Atwood’s audience included many students, who, after her lecture, posed wide-ranging questions about her philosophy and creative process. She had spent the afternoon working with students affiliated with the Ethics Institute and with a senior seminar taught by Assistant Professor of English Alysia Garrison called “Climate Fiction.”  

Sonu Bedi, the institute’s Hans ’80 and Kate Morris Director and the Joel Parker 1811 Professor in Law and Political Science, explained in his introduction that Atwood’s visit to campus was a stroke of luck. Two years ago, he was seated next to her on a plane to Indiana, where they were both scheduled to give lectures. Read More