Mark Smith
Mark Smith, Professor of History at the University of South Carolina, will return to CLE on August 26 –27.
Professor Smith’s lecture on Aug. 26 from 2 – 4 p.m. will focus on the “Old South” and argues provocatively that “beneath the gloss of genteel aristocracy, the ‘Old South’ pioneered some of the most modern, even capitalistic innovations in the world.”
Smith contends that Southern slaveholders “fashioned themselves as feudal lords, heirs to a past they admired and cherished” while at the same time creating a “modern, highly exploitative system of labor” that “gave rise to one of the most ‘progressive’ societies in the early 19th Century world.”
His second lecture on Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to noon, frames the American Revolution as America’s first Civil War. Twenty percent of American colonists were “Loyalists” – why did they remain loyal to the “Mother Country?” What about the motivations of the rebels who wanted to leave the British Empire? What were the risks and rewards for each side? How did the institution of slavery factor in this calculus, or did it?
Dr. Peter Lindsay, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Georgia State University, will present a lecture titled “Just War Theory Part II” on Thursday, Aug. 29 from 2 – 4 p.m.
Following up on his talk last year, Lindsay will address three of the more important and controversial aspects of war: Is terrorism ever morally justified? Are “enhanced” interrogation techniques (i.e., torture) ever permissible to extract vital information from enemy combatants? How does artificial intelligence, in particular robotic weaponry, complicate the ethics of war?
These presentations will be held in the CLE Lecture Hall at the Peggy Crosby Center, 348 S. 5th Street, Highlands. Cost is $30 for members and $40 for non-members for each presentation. Register to attend online at www.clehighlands.com or by calling 828 526 8811.