Eva T. H. Brann

Eva T. H. Brann passed away peacefully on October 28, 2024, among friends at her home across the street from her beloved St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. Eva was 95 years old. She had long contemplated this transition in life and faced it as she did everything . . . head on and with grace. In her last few days and weeks, Eva directed college staff on the disposition of her books and writings. She greeted friends, colleagues, and other well-wishers with that familiar twinkle in her eye and sharp wit. Eva was first and foremost a lifelong learner and, by example, a lifelong teacher. When her students graduated and left the College to make lives for themselves, they could not quite leave Eva behind. And so, she became a faithful and generous correspondent with many alumni who would write her to tell her about their lives, often seeking her advice on papers and books they were writing. She responded promptly to each on handwritten sheets of paper, answered their questions, and gave suggestions for the improvement in their writing. One wondered how she found time to read all that was sent to her and respond with attention to her correspondents' needs and wishes. But she answered her correspondence swiftly: "Clear the desk each day," she'd say, "Piles are incubi and of the devil." Eva was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1929. With the rise of Nazism, her Jewish family decided to emigrate to the United States in 1941. She went on to attain a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College, a master's in Classics from Yale University, and her PhD in Archaeology from Yale. She is the well-known author of countless journal articles and over twenty books on all manner of subjects, from Paradoxes of Education in a Republic, to The World of Imagination, to Homeric Moments, What Then Is Time?, to her most recent book, Equality. She also co-authored several published translations of Plato's dialogues. She began her career as an archeologist, but upon the recommendation of a friend, soon moved to St. John's College to teach in Annapolis and, as she said, "never looked back." Arriving as a faculty member in 1957, Eva became the longest-serving tutor at the College, including a stint as dean of the Annapolis campus from 1990-1997. She was named tutor emerita in 2022. At St. John's, Eva encountered Jacob Klein, whom she considered "the paradigm of a teacher in a school devoted to liberal education." Among the pedagogical lessons she learned from him was that playfulness is of the essence of liberal learning. "Playfulness after all goes with laughter, and surprised laughter is the physical analogue to wonder, the beginning of philosophy." She saw that "learning has a human face, and a teacher who can't laugh can't be serious." This was a lesson Eva learned well and put into practice with joy. Among her numerous prestigious awards, such as the Distinguished Alumna Award from Brooklyn College and the Russell Kirk Paideia Prize, Eva was a recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2005, presented by President George W. Bush, who called Eva "a national treasure." She served as a member of the U.S. Advisory Commission for International Education and Cultural Affairs (1975-77) and on the Maryland Advisory Committee of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (1988-96). St. John's College President Nora Demleitner shared with community members that Eva's influence "will animate the spirit of the college and the academic program forever." Eva is survived by many, many loving friends, thousands of admiring colleagues and college alumni, her voluminous written contributions, and, of course, her impact on the program of instruction at the College. St. John's will provide additional information about a celebration of her life in the coming weeks. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to St. John's College at community.stjohnscollege.edu/giving.