Joseph Ellis, the Ford Foundation Professor of History
at Mount Holyoke College, speaks on “Why Jefferson Lives: A
Meditation on the Man and the Myth” on Thursday, Sept. 23, at 7:30
p.m. in the Nott Memorial.
His talk is the first of four this fall in the
Perspectives at the Nott lecture series.
A nationally-recognized scholar of American history from
colonial times through the early decades of the republic, he is the author
of six books including American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas
Jefferson, winner of the 1997 National Book Award in Nonfiction. The
book has been the subject of great critical and public interest as it
explores the complexities of Jefferson's character and the central role
of his political philosophy in the unfolding of the American experience.
Other lectures in the Perspectives at the Nott series
are Victor Fazio '65, former Congressman, on “Rekindling Faith in
Public Service in the Quest for the Common Welfare of the Next
Millennium” on Oct. 7; actor Fred Morsell in a character portrayal,
“Presenting Mr. Frederick Douglass” on Oct. 27; and Houston
Baker, a specialist in American and African-American literature on
“Turning South Again – Rethinking Black Modernism” on Nov. 4.
All lectures start at 7:30 p.m. For more information,
call ext. 6131.