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Columbus―Behold the Man
Two In-Person Sessions
Mon., Oct. 6, 13, 2025, 6:30-8:30 pm MT

You might think you know Christopher Columbus from grade school lessons—as a symbol of daring exploration and as the vanguard of brutal colonialism. In this two-session course, former professor Buie Seawell invites you to make a passage of discovery with him as he shines new light on Columbus. Take a closer, more nuanced look at Columbus—not as a cultural icon or villain, but as a historical figure and human being.

In 1992, when the world observed the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage of discovery, Seawell joined sailors from around the globe to make a similar crossing of remembrance and exploration. That journey helped shape his perspective on the man behind the myth.

“This class is about two voyages interlaced,” Seawell explains, “and the discovery of the person who has been both celebrated and condemned—the Geno/ese entrepreneur and sailor. The aim for this class is to move beyond the cultural legend and examine Columbus as a complex individual shaped by his time.”

Drawing on his own experiences sailing the Atlantic, Seawell will explore how the story of Columbus has evolved, and what we might learn by disentangling the historical reality from centuries of symbolism and cultural strife. Columbus emerges here as neither god nor devil, but rather as a flawed, ambitious, and deeply human sailor: Ecce homo.

Buie Seawell, professor emeritus, retired as professor of the practice in the Department of Business Ethics and Legal Studies at Daniels College of Business in 2017. He formerly served on the Ethics and Professionalism Committee of the American Board of Medical Specialties.