Lecture-Concert Series to Open with Constitution Day Presentation, Sept. 18
JONESBORO – The first event in the 2012-13 Lecture-Concert Series at Arkansas State University will focus on Constitution Day, announced Dr. Tim Crist, chair of the Lecture-Concert Committee.
The guest speaker will be Hanes Walton Jr., research professor for the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan.
Walton will address students, faculty and campus visitors on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Carl R. Reng Student Union auditorium.
The Constitution Day lecture is supported with generous funding from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Professor Walton's principal areas of interest are African-American politics, presidential elections, and public policy.
His current book explores and analyzes the manner in which the political context variable impacts and influences the political behavior of the African-American community.
His many other publications include "Dead Certain: The Election of Barack Obama and its Implications for Racial Politics," and "The Obama Phenomenon: Toward a Multiracial Democracy."
In 2007, he was awarded Best Article Award, for "One of Our Own: Black Female Candidates and the Voters Who Support Them,” from the American Journal of Political Science.
Constitution Week is observed at ASU each year with a guest speaker.
"Often we only think about politics and government during election years," commented Dr. Will McLean, chair of the Department of Political Science in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at ASU. "Given the current negative climate of politics, it is important today, more than ever, for citizens to understand the founding principles that created our system of government in order to be productive citizens.
"It is imperative that we should remember, during our relatively short 236-year history, much of the rest of the world has experienced a series of revolutions and instability where governments and constitutions have had very little staying power," he added. "Our small document, with only 27 changes, has managed to serve as the basis for one of the most successful democracies ever created."
For more information, contact Dr. Tim Crist, professor of music and chair, Lecture-Concert Committee, tcrist@astate.edu or (870) 680-8441.
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