Monthly Lecture Series

During the academic school year (typically September through April), the McConnell Center hosts a monthly public lecture series.

These events are free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come basis. No tickets required unless otherwise indicated.

2024

  • April 1: Ms. Alexandra Hudson on "The Soul of Civility"
  • March 22 (Virtual): Dr. Justin Litke on "Tocqueville, Publius, and Henry Clay on Compromise"
  • March 19 (Virtual): Ms. Kelly Hyberger on "Native Americans in Tocqueville and His Times"
  • Feb. 27 (Virtual): Mr. Francisco Gonzales on "The American Dream is a Terrible Thing to Waste - Entrepreneurs and Being Fearless in Today's Economy"
  • Feb. 20 (Virtual): Mr. Trey Dimsdale on "Rights Inflation? Can We Talk Too Much About Rights?"
  • Feb. 8, 2024(Virtual): Dr. Luke Sheahan on "Why Associations Matter?" 
  • Jan. 30, 2024 (Virtual): Dr. Aurelian Craiutu on "Why Not Moderation?"
  • Jan. 22, 2024(Virtual): Dr. Brad Birzer on "Robert Nisbet - the 20th Century's Tocqueville"

2023

  • Nov. 9, 2023 (Chao Auditorium): Dr. Tracy McKenzie on "'I am Full of Fears and Hopes': Alexis de Tocqueville on Christianity and the Peril and Promise of Democracy"
  • Oct. 19, 2023 (Chao Auditorium): Dr. Jonathan Den Hartog on "What Would Tocqueville Tweet? Democracy, Speech, and Discontent Across Two Centuries"
  • Sept. 19, 2023 (Virtual): Ms. Grace Olmstead on "The Power of the Particular: Tocqueville's Vision for Stewardship in Place"
  • Aug. 25, 2023 (Virtual): Dr. John Wilsey on "Alexis de Tocqueville in Space and Time"
  • April 20, 2023 (Virtual): Mr. Erick Erickson on "Twenty-first Century Political Realignment: The United States After Trump"
  • April 18, 2023 (Virtual): Ms. Grace Olmstead on "The Power of Place and Particularity"
  • April 12, 2023 (Virtual): Dr. Ricky Jones on "The Criminalization of Black History"
  • March 30, 2023 (Virtual): Mr. Daniel McCarthy on "Conservatism, Populism, and 'Caesarism'"
  • March 27, 2023 (Virtual): Dr. Michael Greve on "Federalism Among the States"
  • March 23, 2023 (Chao Auditorium): Dr. Emmalon Davis on "Politics of the Public Sphere: Recovering Black Feminist Voices"
  • March 8, 2023 (Virtual): Cory Silverberg on "Sex is a Funny Word, and Other Feminist Truths"
  • March 2, 2023 (Chao Auditorium): Dr. Kathryn Norlock on "What Comes Before and After Feminism?"
  • Feb. 27, 2023 (Virtual): Prof. Jeffrey Pojanowski on "Constitutional Interpretation and the Classical Legal Tradition"
  • Feb. 8, 2023 (Chao Auditorium): Rev. Dr. Kevin Cosby on "The Power of Empathy" 
  • Jan. 30, 2023 (Chao Auditorium): Dr. David Campbell on "Religious Backlash - How Politics Pushes Americans Away from Religion"
  • Jan. 24, 2023 (Virtual): Dr. Eric McDaniel on "The Continuing Crusade: American Religious Exceptionalism and the Future of American Politics"
  • Jan. 10, 2023 (Virtual): Dr. Mark David Hall on "What is Christian Nationalism? And Should I Be Concerned?"

2022

  • Nov. 3, 2022 (Chao Auditorium): Ms. Jeana Dunlap on "History and Liberal Policy: Generational Wealth in Louisville and America"
  • Oct. 25, 2022 (Chao Auditorium): Mr. Matthew Continetti on "The Right - The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism"
  • Oct. 11, 2022 (Chao Auditorium): Dr. George Nash on "American Conservatism and the Challenges of Populism"
  • Sept. 17, 2022 (SAC Multipurpose Room): Dr. John Rose on "Political Polarization, the Classroom, and the Future of Civic Discourse"
  • Aug. 24, 2022 (Chao Auditorium): Dr. Peter Coleman on "The Way Out - How to Overcome Toxic Polarization"
  • Feb. 22, 2022 (Chao Auditorium): Mr. Tim Carney and Mr. Adam Enders on "Alienated and Polarized: A Conversation on a Divided America"

2021

  • April 14, 2021 (virtual): Dr. Josh Chafetz on "Congress's Constitution: Legislative Authority and the Separation of Powers"
  • March 16, 2021 (virtual): Dr. Jasmine Farrier on "Constitutional Dysfunction on Trial: Congressional Lawsuits and the Separation of Powers"
  • March 15, 2021 (virtual): Distinguished Military Leader Series: CMSAF JoAnne S. Bass
  • March 1, 2021 (virtual): Distinguished Military Leader Series: Lt. Gen. Bryan Fenton
  • Feb. 15, 2021 (virtual): Dr. Nathan Coleman on "Federalism at the Founding: Reclaiming an Old-Fashioned Interpretation"
  • Jan. 27, 2021 (virtual): The Federal Budget: A Conversation with Rep. John Yarmuth 

2020

  • Nov. 9, 2020 (virtual): Dr. Susan Ware on "Why They Marched: Commemorating the Centennial fo the 19th Amendment"
  • Oct. 27, 2020 (virtual): Mr. Lyman Stone on "America's Response to COVID" (co-sponsored with the American Enterprise Institute)
  • Oct. 19, 2020 (virtual): Dr. Lucas Morel on "Frederick Douglass, the Constitution and the Making of an American"
  • Sept. 17, 2020 (virtual): Constitution Day Debate: "Resolved: The Anti-Federalists Were Right: The Constitution Should Not Have Been Ratified" featuring Dr. Andrew Tate and Dr. Michael Federici
  • July 28, 2020 (virtual): Dr. GlyptusAnn Grider Jones and Dr. Gary Gregg on "Wendell's Berry's 'Hannah Coulter'"
  • June 30, 2020 (virtual): Dr. Amy Sturgis on "Fahrenheit 451"
  • May 28, 2020 (virtual): Dr. John Kleber on "Why We Need Thoreau's Walden in 2020"
  • April 16, 2020 (virtual): Ms. Patti Callahan Henry on "Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Story of Joy Davidman"
  • March 24, 2020 (virtual): Dr. Amy Sturgis on "Indigenous Futurism: Native American Women & the New Literature of Hope"
  • Feb. 28, 2020 (Chao Auditorium): Thomas Miller, JD, and Ed Weisbart, MD, on "The Future of Healthcare: Single Payer & Its Alternatives" (co-sponsored with the American Enterprise Institute); McConnell Center's annual Humana Health Foundation Policy Lecture
  • Jan. 28, 2020 (Chao Auditorium): Dr. Barbara Perry on "Pioneers of the Court: Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg"