Choice Reading
The award was announced in the January 2004 issue of Choice magazine, which annually publishes a list of Outstanding Academic Titles that were reviewed during the previous calendar year. The selective list contains only 10 percent of some 6,600 works reviewed by Choice each year.
McCarthy was honored for his 2003 book Classical Horizons: The Origins of Sociology in Ancient Greece, published by the State University of New York (SUNY) Press. The book argues that classical social theory has its intellectual and moral roots in ancient Greece.
Judith Marcus, an associate professor of sociology at SUNY at Potsdam, says McCarthy's book "will become a classic." Norman Weiner, a sociology professor at SUNY at Oswego, calls McCarthy's book one of the most interesting and engaging social theory books he's ever read.
McCarthy was recently invited to have his classroom lectures taped for the Teaching Company as part of its SuperStar Teachers college lecture series.
A member of Kenyon's faculty since 1979, McCarthy is a summa cum laude graduate of Manhattan College. He went on to earn a master's degree and doctorate in philosophy from Boston College and a master's degree and doctorate in sociology from the New School for Social Research.
One of the nation's leading liberal arts and sciences colleges and home to the Kenyon Review, Kenyon College offers 1,594 students a challenging educational experience enriched by a culture of friendship. Graduates of the College have included actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and author E. L. Doctorow.