On Tuesday 27 October 2026 Dr. Jason Crawford (Union University) will give a light-hearted lecture titled, What the Fool Knows: The Wisdom of the One-Liner.
Ancient wisdom literature is often strangely funny. It’s full of weird proverbs, surprising twists, riddles of wordplay and wit. Its nuggets of truth are often a lot like jokes. And in the tradition of ironic wisdom that descends from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, joking and truth-telling can be hard to tell apart. This talk will explore that long tradition and the figures who populate it, from biblical sages and medieval fools to the stand-up prophets of modern comedy. In what ways are their one-liners also revelations? Can their folly teach us something about what it means to be wise?
The lecture will start at 5pm and be in the Della Ratta Auditorium, Maloney Hall, on the campus of the Catholic University of America. Light refreshments will follow the lecture which is free and open to the public.