The fourth Joanna Jackson Goldman Memorial Lecture on American Civilization and Government will be presented at the Library by Martin E. Marty, Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor, the Divinity School, University of Chicago. The lecture, "America After Its Trauma: Tribalism, Totalism, and the Common Good," will be given in the Library's Montpelier Room, Sixth floor, Madison Building, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 18. No tickets are required.
Professor Marty's theme - the conflict between the one and the many in American society - has exceptional relevance and poignancy today. In the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, and in this tumultuous election year, the question will undoubtedly affect the choices made behind the curtains of American polling booths. The relationship individuals feel to the "common" is of urgent national importance - not only for politicians but as part of the search for national self-understanding.
Professor Marty has been described as a true scholar-citizen. A teacher of the history of modern Christianity, he is a highly prolific author whose books are respected for their fresh and expansive approach to the study of religion and its role in society. His book Righteous Empire won the 1971 National Book Award. His other works include The New Shape of American Religion (1959), Varieties of Unbelief (1964), A Nation of Behavers (1976), The Public Church (1981), Pilgrims in Their Own Land (1984), Protestantism in the United States (1985) and the multivolume Modern American Religion (1986- ).
Professor Marty is also co-editor of The Fundamentalism Project, a broad, multi-phase study conducted under the auspices of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been senior editor of The Christian Century since 1985, Context Magazine since 1969, and co-editor of Church History since 1963.
Professor Marty is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served as president of the American Society for Church History, the American Catholic Historical Association, and the American Academy of Religion.
The Goldman Memorial Lecture series is made possible by a gift from the estate of the late Eric F. Goldman, who taught at Princeton University. Established in 1992, the series fulfills Mr. Goldman's desire to honor the memory of his wife. Each year an individual is selected on the basis of his or her high achievement and literary skill to deliver a lecture at the Library on a significant issue facing American democracy. The series is intended to foster consideration of American culture and customs, economic and social issues, international relations, government and public policy.
Dr. Billington said the lecture series allows "a long-term assessment of some aspect of the American experience . . . by stimulating provocative and thoughtful debate on issues of importance to public policy."