Heather Reid, professor of philosophy at Morningside College, received a Fulbright Scholar Award for Teaching and Research in Naples, Italy, from December until May.

Heather Reid, professor of philosophy at Morningside College, received a Fulbright Scholar Award for Teaching and Research in Naples, Italy, from December until May.

Reid was hosted by the University of Naples Federico II. Founded in 1244, it is the oldest public university in continuous operation. Her award was sponsored by Con il Sud, a foundation that promotes development in Southern Italy. 

Reid studied the phenomenon of female athletes in Olympic-style games in Naples during the Imperial period. Lists of winners from Sebastà games that took place during the first century of the Common Era were recently discovered while excavating a metro station.  The lists included several women who competed in 200- and 400-meter events and came from as far away as Ephesus in modern Turkey. Reid believes that female athletes demonstrated virtues associated with the mythological figure Atalanta to prospective spouses in the Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire.

“My hope is that an understanding of ancient female athletics may help us appreciate the distinctive value of women’s sports today,” she said.

Reid is a specialist in ancient philosophy and the philosophy of sport. She has published six books related to sports philosophy and the Olympics. She also directs a semester abroad program in Sicily for Morningside students. A member of the Morningside faculty since 1996, she received her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.