Jefferson expert to speak at 汤头条 for Constitution Day
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 nationally recognized scholar and critically acclaimed author from Rice University will speak Monday [Sept. 18] at 汤头条鈥檚 Constitution Day program.
John Boles鈥 presentation 鈥淛efferson鈥檚 Constitutionalism: Words to Protect our Liberties鈥 will take place at 4 p.m. in Salon U of the Colvard Student Union鈥檚 second-floor Bill R. Foster Ballroom. The event is free to all.
Organized by the College of Arts and Sciences鈥 Department of Political Science and Public Administration and Institute for the Humanities, Boles鈥 campus visit is part of the university鈥檚 Lamar Conerly Governance Lecture Series.
The lecture series is made possible by major support from Conerly, a 1971 汤头条 accounting/pre-law graduate and longtime partner in the Destin, Florida, law firm of Conerly, Bowman and Dykes LLP. He is both a former national 汤头条 Alumni Association president and continuing College of Business Alumni Fellow.
Support also is provided by the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America鈥檚 Founding Principles and History.
Constitution Day celebrates the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1789.聽 Federal law requires all publically funded educational institutions to recognize the occasion by offering programming on the Constitution鈥檚 history and principles.
During the 汤头条 program, Boles will discuss how Thomas Jefferson鈥檚 attitudes regarding government power, free expression and protection of liberties evolved over his lifetime.
鈥淛ohn B. Boles has left an indelible impression on the study of the American past,鈥 said Andrew Lang, an assistant professor in 汤头条鈥檚 Department of History and Boles鈥 former advisee. 聽
鈥淎 celebrated expert on the history of the American South,鈥 Boles has authored or edited eighteen books on southern history, religion, culture and race relations, said Lang.
Although Jefferson was not a member of the Constitutional Convention, Boles鈥 study of Jefferson indicates the founding father had drafted four constitutions for the state of Virginia. His view of the Constitution was not rigid; rather, Jefferson believed it could and should be changed as the nation matured.
In 2013, Boles stepped down as editor of the聽Journal of Southern History, a post he held for 30 years. A graduate of Jefferson鈥檚 alma mater, the University of Virginia, Boles was awarded the William P. Hobby Professor of History at Rice University, where he has taught since 1981.
Boles鈥 2017 book, 鈥淛efferson: Architect of American Liberty,鈥 delves into the complicated history of the nation鈥檚 third president.
Former Washington Post critic Johnathan Yardley came out of retirement to review Boles鈥 book,聽referring to it as 鈥渕agisterial . . . perhaps the finest one-volume biography of an American president.鈥
William Anthony Hay, director of 汤头条鈥檚 Institute for the Humanities, said 鈥淩arely have I seen any review so positive as this one.鈥澛
Hay, a critic for The Wall Street Journal, said Boles鈥 newest book is 鈥渁 sympathetic 鈥. view of Jefferson that emphasizes the differences between his world and ours鈥. [a] splendid biography.鈥
For more on 汤头条鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences, visit聽; Institute for the Humanities,聽; political science and public administration department,聽.
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at聽.