Jefferson expert to speak at Ļć½¶Ö±²„for Constitution Day
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.āA nationally recognized scholar and critically acclaimed author from Rice University will speak Monday [Sept. 18] at Ļć½¶Ö±²„ās Constitution Day program.
John Bolesā presentation āJeffersonās Constitutionalism: Words to Protect our Libertiesā will take place at 4 p.m. in Salon U of the Colvard Student Unionās second-floor Bill R. Foster Ballroom. The event is free to all.
Organized by the College of Arts and Sciencesā Department of Political Science and Public Administration and Institute for the Humanities, Bolesā campus visit is part of the universityās Lamar Conerly Governance Lecture Series.
The lecture series is made possible by major support from Conerly, a 1971 Ļć½¶Ö±²„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 Ļć½¶Ö±²„Alumni Association president and continuing College of Business Alumni Fellow.
Support also is provided by the Jack Miller Center for Teaching Americaās Founding Principles and History.
Constitution Day celebrates the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1789.Ā Federal law requires all publically funded educational institutions to recognize the occasion by offering programming on the Constitutionās history and principles.
During the Ļć½¶Ö±²„program, Boles will discuss how Thomas Jeffersonās attitudes regarding government power, free expression and protection of liberties evolved over his lifetime.
āJohn B. Boles has left an indelible impression on the study of the American past,ā said Andrew Lang, an assistant professor in MSUās Department of History and Bolesā former advisee. Ā
āA celebrated expert on the history of the American South,ā 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, Bolesā 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 theĀ Journal of Southern History, a post he held for 30 years. A graduate of Jeffersonās 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.
Bolesā 2017 book, āJefferson: Architect of American Liberty,ā delves into the complicated history of the nationās third president.
Former Washington Post critic Johnathan Yardley came out of retirement to review Bolesā book,Ā referring to it as āmagisterial . . . perhaps the finest one-volume biography of an American president.ā
William Anthony Hay, director of MSUās Institute for the Humanities, said āRarely have I seen any review so positive as this one.āĀ
Hay, a critic for The Wall Street Journal, said Bolesā newest book is āa sympathetic ā¦. view of Jefferson that emphasizes the differences between his world and oursā¦. [a] splendid biography.ā
For more on MSUās College of Arts and Sciences, visitĀ ; Institute for the Humanities,Ā ; political science and public administration department,Ā .
Ļć½¶Ö±²„is Mississippiās leading university, available online atĀ .