Dr. Robert Mayhew

Ph.D., Philosophy, Georgetown University, 1991

Dr. Mayhew is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Seton Hall University. He is the editor of Ayn Rand's Marginalia and of Ayn Rand's The Art of Nonfiction. He has translated Aristophanes' Assembly of Women, and is the author of Aristotle's Criticism of Plato's Republic and of numerous articles and reviews on Aristotle.

Russian Smiles: The Leftist Response to Ayn Rand's HUAC Testimony

In 1947, Ayn Rand went to Washington to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee on communist infiltration in Hollywood. Dr. Mayhew is presently writing a book-tentatively entitled Ayn Rand and "Song of Russia"-which discusses in detail (1) the film that was the focus of her testimony, (2) the testimony itself, and (3) the responses to her testimony in the fifty years since she appeared before the HUAC. In this lecture, Dr. Mayhew will briefly describe his book, and then present the bulk of the chapter that deals with the Leftist response to Ayn Rand's testimony-from a 1947 "article" in the communist rag New Masses, to the recently published autobiography of Ring Lardner, Jr.

Ayn Rand's Q&A

After the publication of Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand turned to nonfiction writing and public speaking. Following dozens of lectures, she took part in Q&A sessions, where she had the opportunity to elaborate on views she had presented elsewhere, or in some cases, to discuss issues about which she had written nothing. Dr. Mayhew is presently editing this material for publication. In this lecture, he presents a sampler, covering such diverse topics as: libertarians, Hemingway, Dagny Taggart, chess, and romantic love.

 

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