David Werther

PhD Philosophy, University of Wisconsin-Madison                                                           

I grew up in Rochester New York, but have spent most of my adult life in the Midwest, going to graduate schools in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, eventually settling down in Madison Wisconsin. With a nationally known trout stream nearby, Black Earth Creek, three local lakes, and Devil’s Lake State Park, an hour’s drive away, Madison is a great place for an aspiring fly-fisherman (that’s me) to live.

I think some of the most interesting academic work is multidisciplinary and I enjoy working at the intersection of philosophy and theology. My interdisciplinary interests are evidenced in a collection of essays, I co-edited with my wife, Susan,  C.S. Lewis’s List  The Ten Books that Influenced Him Most (Bloomsbury, 2015).

I first became acquainted with the University of Wisconsin Independent Learning Program, when I took a correspondence course in Logic.  I was shifting my graduate studies from theology to philosophy, and needed background in logic.  A few years later, I came to UW-Madison to complete my graduate work, and took on the instruction of that course; I have been involved in the UW Independent Learning Program ever since.  Teaching asynchronous distance courses with multiple low-stakes assessments, gives me the opportunity to work one-on-one with students, and help them significantly improve their critical thinking and writing skills. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve students in some of the ways my professors have helped me.