F&M Stories

A professor of political theory with expertise ranging from Greek and Roman thought to contemporary American politics, Dean Hammer weaved his teaching and scholarship together for 30 years in such a way that it helped members of our academic community, both students and faculty, find success at F&M and beyond.

As a scholar, Professor Hammer published six books, over three dozen articles, and won the Bradley R. Dewey Award for Outstanding Scholarship in 2006.

As a teacher, Professor Hammer’s classes were simultaneously rigorous and wildly popular. His classroom spaces were both comfortable — allowing students to explore big, heavy, and complex ideas — and challenging. He encouraged unstructured discussion, but led this discussion in such a way that pushed students to layer big ideas on top of one another, ultimately helping students develop a deeper understanding of how social and political structures interact with societies’ prevailing political philosophies to create a navigable political world. He was awarded the Lindback Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2013.

As a member of the Government Department and the broader college community, Professor Hammer’s leadership and mentorship were invaluable. He played an integral role in the adoption of Foundations courses (now Connections courses). He was the first faculty don of New College House (now Roschel College House), where he helped students connect their academic work with their personal lives and the broader Lancaster community. And, as chair and senior member of the faculty in the Government Department, he helped guide junior faculty through the tenure process.

In short, and to borrow loosely from his description of Sallust from his book “Roman Political Thought: From Cicero to Augustine,” Professor Hammer did a great deal to help students and colleagues understand the College, as a collection of individuals, institutions, and practices, in a way that makes sense — and sometimes stops making sense — all in an effort to help us find joy, happiness, and humor (sometimes dark humor) in a world that sometimes seems unspeakably large and overwhelmingly complex.

Professor Hammer and his wife, Carol, now live in Oaxaca, Mexico. They read (for pleasure), are engaged in various sustainability efforts, and support local chefs as they emerge onto the local culinary scene.

Dean C. Hammer, John W. Wetzel Professor of Classics and Professor of Government