Tocqueville Center events will alternate between two speaker series:

The Tocqueville Scholars-in-Residence Series

The Tocqueville Scholars-in-Residence Series will feature prominent scholars from the United States and abroad who focus on Alexis de Tocqueville, his writings, and the issues important to him. Most Scholars-in-Residence will produce a paper to be discussed by Tocqueville Fellows and others in small groups, as well as deliver a lecture in a public setting.

The Tocqueville Public Intellectuals Speaker Series

The Tocqueville Public Intellectuals Speaker Series will feature thought-leaders interested in aspects of American life Tocqueville explored in his writings.

Fall 2023 Event Schedule
Topic Speakers Date
Alexis de Tocqueville in America
Speakers
Scholars-in-Residence: Richard Avramenko (Wisconsin), “Tocqueville on the Law and Liberal Education” Raul Rodriquez (Michigan State), “Tocqueville and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy” Cheryl Welch (Harvard), “Tocqueville in Politics: On Reforming Dysfunctional Democracy”
Date
August 23-24
Protestant Religion in America
Speakers
Public Intellectuals: Ryan Burge (Eastern Illinois) Emma Green (The New Yorker) Eric McDaniel (UT-Austin) Molly Worthen (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Date
September 13-14
Commerce in America -
Walters Memorial Lecture Series
Speakers
Scholar-in-Residence: Jerry Z. Muller (Catholic University of America), “Tocqueville on Capitalism in America”
Date
October 11
The Black Experience in America
Speakers
Public Intellectuals: Monica Bell (Yale) R. Khari Brown (Wayne State) Andra Gillespie (Emory)
Date
November 14-15
Spring 2024 Event Schedule
Topic Speakers Date
Civic Associations in America
Speakers
Scholar-in-Residence: Robert Putnam (Harvard)
Date
January 24-25
Conservativism in America
Speakers
Public Intellectuals: David Brooks (New York Times) Matthew Continetti (AEI) Helen Andrews (The American Conservative)
Date
February 27-28
Liberalism in America
Speakers
Scholar-in-Residence: Philip Gorski (Yale)
Date
March 20
Catholic Political Thought in America
Speakers
Public Intellectuals: Ross Douthat (New York Times) Leah Sargeant (author of Building the Benedict Option / Other Feminisms) Patrick Deneen (Notre Dame)
Date
April 16-17

Walters Lecture Series

Each year, one lecture in the Tocqueville series honors Professor Ernest J. Walters, who joined the Political Science Department in 1962, and served as the department’s chair from 1979 to 1984. He retired in 1989 as professor of political science emeritus, and continued to teach in Furman’s Learning in Retirement program until his death in 1997.