Each talk begins at 6 p.m. in Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium. Topics, speakers and dates are:
- “Hamilton vs. Jefferson: Who’s the MVP of the American Founding?,” Michael Federici, political science professor, Mercyhurst University, and Michael Schwartz, assistant professor of history, Ashland University, Ohio, Sept. 12.
- “Scale: Is America Too Big?,” Donald Livingston, professor emeritus of philosophy, Emory University, Oct. 14. Livingston, an expert on Scottish philosopher David Hume, helped found the Abbeville Institute, a group of scholars who study the American South.
- “The War on Poverty: 50 Years of Debating the Great Society,” Kent Germany, associate professor of history and African American studies, University of South Carolina, Oct. 28. Germany has co-edited two books about Lyndon Johnson and the 1960s.
- “Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders,” Denise Spellberg, associate professor of history, University of Texas at Austin, Nov. 11. Spellberg wrote a book exploring Jefferson’s lifelong interest in Islam.
“Our goal is to offer a fresh look at often overlooked debates throughout American history,” said Gary Gregg, McConnell Center director.
The center will host two other public events this fall, a Sept. 18 panel discussion marking the anniversary of the start of World War I and a Sept. 27 conference, “Making a Home Fit for Humans: Localism Beyond Food,” featuring Wendell Berry as keynote speaker.
The non-partisan McConnell Center, created at UofL in 1991, prepares Kentucky’s top college students to become leaders and offers civic education for teachers, students and the public.
For more details, contact GlyptusAnn Grider Jones at 502-852-4579 or see http://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/events/lectures/public-lectures