Origins of Ronald Reagan’s economic thought topic of Eureka College lecture

October 2 - 7:30 pm - cerf center

Eureka College history professor Junius Rodriguez will present “Where Eureka and Serendipity Intersect: The Intellectual Origins of Ronald Reagan’s Economic Thought” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 in the Cerf Center at Eureka College.

The free presentation will discuss the genesis of the economic ideas that Reagan learned as a student at Eureka College from 1928-1932.

“For too long, assumptions have been made about the economic concepts that Ronald Reagan learned as a student during the era of the Great Depression without delving into the intellectual genesis of these ideas,” Rodriguez said. “Significant new findings emerge when one considers the economic texts that would have been studied at the time and how Ronald Reagan's instructors would have filtered these ideas through their own experiences.

“When this type of academic training is considered within the context of studying during the greatest economic upheaval in U.S. history, what emerges is a potent new understanding that is far more complex than previously imagined,” he said.
           
Rodriguez holds a doctorate from Auburn University. He has edited six encyclopedias on slavery and on America in the 19th century. His “Slavery in the Modern World: A History of Political, Social, and Economic Oppression” is scheduled for publication by ABC-Clio next year. He developed The History Channel’s television documentary "Human Bondage.”

Rodriguez’s presentation is the first Clarence R. Noe Dean’s Lecture to be given by Eureka College faculty members this academic year. Others will be by business professor Marjorie Rubash on Jan. 27 and philosophy professor Scott Hemmenway on March 17.

Receptions will follow. For more information, call (309) 467-6301.

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Contact:

Michele Lehman

Media Relations Coordinator

mlehman@eureka.edu

(309) 467-6318