In Memoriam Edward J. Hundert
(May 28, 1940 – June 18, 2020)
It is with great sadness that we share news of the passing of a cherished colleague and mentor, Professor Edward Hundert—fondly known to students and faculty alike in Arts One as ‘Ed.’ Raised in the Bronx, and a graduate of Stuyvesant High School, the City University of New York, New York University, and the University of Rochester, Ed was a bred-in-the-bone New York intellectual who brought tenacious inquiry, critical candor, and the pleasure of deeply engaged conversation to vivid life for generations of UBC students and colleagues. After joining the UBC Department of History in 1966, and while establishing his reputation as a leading intellectual historian, Ed began teaching in Arts One in the 1970s and kept returning to the program until his retirement in 2000, sharing 14 years (and 7 themes) with us. A stalwart friend, guide, and champion of the program, Ed influenced Arts One deeply both as a faculty member and as program Chair, helping to establish Arts One as a leading model for the introduction of university students not only to the humanities and social sciences, but to academic life itself. The profound erudition, lucidity of thought, and elegance of expression met on every page of his classic study of Mandeville, The Enlightenment’s Fable: Bernard Mandeville and the Discovery of Society (Cambridge 1994), were a weekly experience for those fortunate to share a seminar, tutorial, lecture hall, or faculty meeting with him, and Ed’s passion for the academic calling was a stimulating reminder to each of us of the scholarly commitment we could aspire to. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Ed’s family and friends, hoping that they may find comfort in Ed’s extraordinary impact on so many lives, and in the living memories we share of Ed.
Robert Crawford and Brandon Konoval, co-Chairs
The UBC Arts One Program
For an Arts One student’s testimonial to Ed, please see:
Photo credit: https://vancouversunandprovince.remembering.ca/obituary/edward-hundert-1079405356
