Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, will speak on "The Political Importance of Stories of Peoplehood" at 4 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 13 in the Hamilton College Chapel. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will explore the role that stories play in constituting group identity and developing humans' sense of themselves as members of particular communities. A reception will follow. The talk is part of the Phi Betta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program.
Smith teaches American constitutional law and American political thought. He is the author of: Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History (Yale University Press, 1997); Liberalism and American Constitutional Law (Harvard University Press, 1985); "Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz: The Multiple Traditions in America," American Political Science Review (1993); and, with Hamilton College government professor Philip Klinkner, The Unsteady March: The Rise and Decline of Racial Equality in America (University of Chicago Press, 1999).
Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program was established by the national organization to enhance intellectual exchange by bringing distinguished scholars to undergraduate institutions. Smith will spend two days at Hamilton, visiting classes and talking with students and faculty members.
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