Landiss Lecture features viewers' guide to debates by esteemed presidential scholar
Janel Shoun |
Scheduled for Sept. 15 and Sept. 22, just four days before the first presidential candidate debate, these lectures by Michael Nelson, Fulmer professor of political science at Rhodes College, and a recognized expert on the American presidency, will help viewers interpret what the candidates are really saying and showing during the debates.
Nelson, author of 22 books on politics and the American presidency, will speak at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 15, in the Ezell Center, on Diversifying the Presidential Talent Pool: Who Can be President?.
| “I will look at 2008 as the year in which members of a variety of groups that previously had been excluded from the presidential talent pool got included,” said Nelson, naming women, African Americans, Latinos and seniors as the often-neglected groups. “It’s encouraging that we as a country are willing to look past a lot of old prejudices in deciding who can be a serious candidate for president and who can’t.” |
At 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22, in the Ezell Center, Nelson will speak on The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debates: A Viewer’s Guide, where he will discuss the history of political debates and how viewers can read between the rhetoric during the upcoming debates. Both lectures are free and open to the public.
| “In a year with such a pivotal election before us, it is important to find ways to bring the lofty issues facing our nation down to earth and make them accessible to the public who will be voting for our next president,” said Craig Bledsoe, provost at Lipscomb University, political science professor and colleague of Nelson. “Michael (Nelson) has a wealth of expertise and knows how to link our own daily life to the political issues we hear so much about on the news but may not truly understand.” |
The Landiss Lecture Series has brought programs from outstanding writers to the Lipscomb campus for more than 21 years. Nelson is the author of The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776-2007, which was awinner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for History, Politics, and Philosophy; The Presidency and the Political System; and The Elections of 2004, among many others.
Nelson’s works have analyzed every presidential administration through President George W. Bush, and he has published numerous articles in scholarly journals and periodicals such Newsweek and the New York Times.
For more information on Nelson’s lectures or the Landiss Lecture Series contact Carolyn Wilson at 615.966.5837 or by email at carolyn.wilson@lipscomb.edu.