Former Yale professor Rogers M. Smith will visit Washington State University to present “Political Allegiances in the 21st Century” as part of Phi Beta Kappa’s Visiting Scholar Program on Nov. 7. The lecture, free and open to the public, will be from 3 – 4:30 p.m. in Todd Hall, Room 276.
A professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Smith’s research focuses on constitutional law, American political thought, and modern legal and political theory. He caused turmoil among his peers after his essay defining what real political research should be was published in “The Chronicle of Higher Education” last spring.
Smith earned his bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University in 1975 and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard in 1978 and 1980, respectively. He was the Cowles Professor of Government at Yale University, where he taught from 1980 – 2001, and received Yale’s Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Prize.
Smith’s published works explore such topics as U.S. Citizenship, immigration, racial equality and liberalism. His 1997 book, “Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History,” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history. Other works include “The Unsteady March: The Rise and Decline of Racial Equality in America” and “Liberalism and American Constitutional Law.”
On Nov. 8, Smith will visit a Political Science 102 class at 10 a.m. He meets with students and faculty at a brown bag discussion from 12:30 – 2 p.m. in the Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education, Room 518.
Sponsors of the event include the WSU chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the Department of Political Science and the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Service.
