Next week: Attend “A Fit Nation? How America Became Obsessed with Exercise, But Physically Unfit”

Tuesday, October 7, 2025 • 4 – 5 PM • Payson Library, Surfboard Room

How did Americans become obsessed with working out? Come hear renowned political and intellectual historian—and certified fitness trainer—Natalia Mehlman Petrzela answer this question through an exploration of the history of fitness in America. Petrzela traces how intentional exercise moved from the cultural margins to the very center of the American experience, even as it remains inaccessible for far too many people. An experienced teacher and engaging communicator, Petrzela offers a compelling case for how understanding the past can help us better pursue health in the present.

This event will serve as an introduction to Seaver College's new health humanities minor. For more information concerning this inaugural program, please contact Jonathan Riddle. The lecture is being co-presented by Pepperdine Libraries, Seaver College's Office of the Dean—via the Visiting Scholar Program, the Humanities and Teacher Education Division, the Communication Division, and the Natural Science Division's Pre-Health Program. Refreshments are provided, and copies of Petrzela's book, Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession, will be available for purchase after the talk.