Dickinson College Welcomes Scholar to Discuss the History of Race as a Political Strategy
The Annual Pflaum Lecture
Noted historian and award-winning author Jacqueline Jones will deliver Dickinson’s annual Pflaum Lecture, “The Idea of Race as a Political Strategy: Examples from American History,” Thursday, Feb. 21, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Stern Center Great Room.
In her talk, Jones will discuss how the idea of race has a history and how the concept of racial difference has been used by various groups over generations to advance their interests. She will ask why we continue to use race and its associated terms, like “race relations” and “biracial,” in contemporary dialogue. Jones is the Ellen C. Temple Chair in Women’s History and Mastin Gentry White Professor of Southern History at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of A Dreadful Deceit: The Myth of Race from the Colonial Era to Obama’s America and numerous other books. Jones is the winner of several prestigious awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship.
The Pflaum Lecture Series is named in honor of Dickinson history professor John C. Pflaum, who taught at the college from 1946 to 1972. The series brings a distinguished scholar to campus each spring semester to discuss a significant issue in history.
The event is co-sponsored by the Cumberland County Historical Society, the Department of History, the Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul Project and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council.
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Published February 7, 2019