---
title: Blog | Susan Hanssen, PhD
description: Susan Hanssen is associate professor of history at the University of Dallas where she teaches American history on the Texas campus during the school year and the history of Western Civilization on the Rome campus in Italy during the summer. She has a PhD in British and American history from Rice University. She has been a fellow of the James Madison Program at Princeton University, the James Madison Memorial Fellowship at Georgetown University, and the Teaching American History program at Ashland University. Her scholarly work on Henry Adams has been published in The New England Quarterly, and on G. K. Chesterton in The Chesterton Review, The Catholic Social Science Journal, Renascence Quarterly, and Faith and Reason. Her writing has also appeared in Public Discourse, The Federalist, National Review, and Crisis Magazine. She has appeared on various media outlets including Sky News, Fox News, and EWTN. She is interested in the overlap between religious and national identity, and the virtue of patriotism.
---

![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1217303775117752&ev=PageView&noscript=1)

# Insights

Explore ideas on faith, reason, culture, and the pursuit of truth. Insights from the University of Dallas community.

![Container-1](https://24176245.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/24176245/hubfs/Theme_2026/Container-1.png?width=100&height=12&name=Container-1.png)

### Susan Hanssen, PhD

![Could the Real Christopher Columbus Please Step Forward?](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hubfs/columbus-painting-met.webp)

[Culture](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/blog/tag/culture)

October 13, 2025

#### Could the Real Christopher Columbus Please Step Forward?

 This article was originally published for National Review on October 13, 2025. Let’s ...

[Read More](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/blog/could-the-real-christopher-columbus-please-step-forward)

##### Tags

- Culture
- Education
- Philosophy
- Ethics
- Leadership
- Catholic
- Humanities
- Faith
- Artificial Intelligence
- Virtue
- Theology
- Civics
- Politics
- Reason
- Business
- Literature

##### Popular Posts

![Light & Truth Conversations: Faith, Vocation, and the Power of a Liberal Arts Education with Katie McGrady](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hubfs/Social/Screenshot%202026-03-25%20at%2010.37.08%E2%80%AFAM.png)

##### Light & Truth Conversations: Faith, Vocation, and the Power of a Liberal Arts Education with Katie McGrady

March 18, 2026

[Read](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/blog/light-truth-conversations-faith-vocation-and-the-power-of-a-liberal-arts-education-with-katie-mcgrady)

![Why Liberal Arts Education Matters in a Civilizational Moment](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hubfs/Light%20and%20Truth%20Assets/1766001488595.png)

##### Why Liberal Arts Education Matters in a Civilizational Moment

December 17, 2025

[Read](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/blog/why-liberal-arts-education-matters-in-a-civilizational-moment)

![What is History? With Andrew Zwerneman](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hubfs/Light%20and%20Truth%20Assets/1770736580332.jpeg)

##### What is History? With Andrew Zwerneman

February 10, 2025

[Read](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/blog/what-is-history-with-andrew-zwerneman)

![Episode 3: Aristotle & the Liberal Arts](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hubfs/Light%20and%20Truth%20Assets/1769453896283.jpeg)

##### Episode 3: Aristotle & the Liberal Arts

January 26, 2026

[Read](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/blog/episode-3-aristotle-the-liberal-arts)

[![UD_Logo_Horizontal_White_WithTagline](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Light%20and%20Truth%20Assets/UD_Logo_Horizontal_White_WithTagline.png?width=2000&name=UD_Logo_Horizontal_White_WithTagline.png) ](https://udallas.edu/)

#### 1845 East Northgate Drive Irving, Texas 75062-4736

## Stay in the light

Get weekly content delivered

#### [Explore](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/light-truth-resources)

#### [About](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/about)

[![facebook](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/UD-2026/facebook.png?width=24&height=24&name=facebook.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/udallas)

[![mdi_instagram](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hubfs/UD-2026/mdi_instagram.svg) ](https://www.instagram.com/universityofdallas/)

[![twitter](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/UD-2026/twitter.png?width=16&height=16&name=twitter.png) ](https://x.com/UofDallas)

[![linkedin](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/UD-2026/linkedin.png?width=23&height=23&name=linkedin.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-dallas/)

[![you tube](https://lightandtruth.udallas.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/UD-2026/you%20tube.png?width=32&height=21&name=you%20tube.png) ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEQxe49Cp1m3SzszjUgo8Q)

© 2026 University of Dallas