MACON, Ga. — Mercer University’s Thomas C. and Ramona E. McDonald Center for America’s Founding Principles will host its 12th A.V. Elliott Conference on Great Books and Ideas, focusing on the thoughts and life of Benjamin Franklin, April 14-15, on the Macon campus.
“We’re very excited about the lineup this year, as we have some terrific Franklin scholars from the fields of history and political science,” said Will R. Jordan, co-director of the McDonald Center for America’s Founding Principles and professor of political science. “Franklin was a truly amazing man and thinker, and we’re really trying to capture some of his unique contributions.”
This year’s conference, focusing on the theme “Reconsidering Benjamin Franklin,” includes lectures and panel discussions from 11 scholars from across the country. Additionally, six Mercer students will be presenting their research.
“We’ve had two faculty-student reading groups this year on the thought of Benjamin Franklin,” said Dr. Jordan. “And the Elliott Conference is the culmination of that academic project. I’m very excited to see how ready our students are to engage these guest lecturers.”
The conference is free and open to the public.
Schedule:
April 14
Student Panel
4:00 p.m., the Presidents Dining Room, the University Center
Opening Lecture
6:00 p.m., the Presidents Dining Room, the University Center
Sheila L. Skemp, history, University of Mississippi
“Benjamin Franklin: American”
April 15
Morning Lecture
9:00 a.m., Connell Student Center, Conference Room I
Loraine Pangle, government, University of Texas
“Franklin’s Moral Philosophy at 300: A Friendly Reassessment”
Faculty Panel I: Franklin and Modernity
10:45 a.m., Connell Student Center, Conference Room I
Nolan Bennett, political science, Cal Poly
“The Imperfect Independence of Franklin’s Autobiography”
Joyce Chaplin, history, Harvard Universit
“Benjamin Franklin’s Republic of Science”
Kevin Slack, politics, Hillsdale Colleg
“On Benjamin Franklin’s Maxims for Political Growth”
Faculty Panel II: Franklin on Religion and History
2:30 p.m., Connell Student Center, Conference Room I
Steven Forde (Political Science, University of North Texas)
“Benjamin Franklin’s Religion”
Nicholas Higgins, political science, North Greenville University
“‘On earth as it is in heaven?’ Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield on Human
Perfectability”
Geoffrey Kellow, humanities, Carleton University
“The Great Aim and End of all Learning: The place of history in Franklin’s Proposals Relating to
the Education of Youth in Pensilvania”
Faculty Panel III: Franklin and Education
4:30 p.m., Connell Student Center, Conference Room I
Timothy Brennan, political philosophy, University of Austin
“Franklin on the Problem of Liberal Education”
Joseph Knippenberg, politics, Oglethorpe University
“Franklin and Tocqueville on Liberal and Civil Education”
Adam Nelson, educational policy, Universty of Wisconsin
“Benjamin Franklin and the Economy of Higher Education in Early America”
The McDonald Center for America’s Founding Principles has held an annual Conference on Great Books and Ideas since 2008. That conference was endowed with a $1 million gift from alumnus and trustee A.V. Elliott in November 2012. Elliott, a 1956 graduate of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who majored in history and Christianity, went on to found Elliott Machine Shop, a 100-employee company in Macon. His success, he said, was in part due to his ability to think critically at important moments, a skill he honed in his humanities courses at Mercer.
About the Thomas C. and Ramona E. McDonald Center for America’s Founding Principles
The Thomas C. and Ramona E. McDonald Center for America’s Founding Principles exists to supplement Mercer University’s excellent liberal arts program with a redoubled commitment to the foundational texts and ideas that have shaped Western civilization and the American political order. This focus on the core texts of the Western tradition helps to revitalize a cross-centuries dialogue about citizenship, human rights, and political, economic and religious freedom, thereby deepening the moral imagination and fostering civic and cultural literacy.
The McDonald Center’s programming includes the annual A.V. Elliott Conference on Great Books and Ideas, faculty-student reading groups, a general education course on America’s Founding Principles, summer Great Books programs for high school teachers and students, and undergraduate research fellowships. All programming is designed to enhance Mercer’s long-standing role as a distinctive home of liberal learning, a place where serious students come to live the life of the mind and emerge more thoughtful and engaged citizens.
