Frieze Lectures to examine democracy beginning Oct. 24

The Frieze Lectures series continues for its 27th year, from Oct. 24 to Nov. 14. The free public lecture series was created to celebrate the oldest library in Illinois, the Rock Island Public Library, founded under the Local Library Act of 1872.

This year's Frieze Lectures, a partnership between the Rock Island Public Library and the faculty of ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø, will include four presentations related to "Democracy in America." The series will wrap up shortly after the Nov. 5 general election, in which voters will elect the President, 34 U.S. Senators and all 435 Members of Congress.

All presentations begin at 2 p.m. at the downtown location of the Rock Island Public Library, 401 19th St. All events are open to the public, free of charge.

Democracy in America | 2024 schedule

Oct. 24: Transpacific Perspectives on American Democracy
Presented by Dr. Liza Lawrence, assistant professor of history
Learn more about this lecture

Oct. 31: Teaching (and Living) Democracy on a ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø Campus
Presented by Dr. Andrea Talentino, president of the ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø and professor of political science
Learn more about this lecture

Nov. 7: Unpacking the 2024 Election
Presented by Dr. Paul Baumgardner, assistant professor of political science
Learn more about this lecture 

Nov. 14: Abraham Lincoln and A House Divided
Presented by Dr. Lendol Calder, professor of history
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ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø the series

The Frieze Lecture Series was created in 1998 by the late Ruth Evelyn Katz, a library board member, to celebrate the library's 125th anniversary. The name comes from the architectural feature around the top of the historic downtown library building. The authors carved into the sandstone are Homer, Longfellow, Emerson, Virgil, Hugo, Shakespeare, Goethe, Burns, Hawthorne, Tegner, and Bancroft. Though not well known today, the names of Tegner, a Swedish poet, and Bancroft, a naval historian, would have been familiar to 1903 residents.

For additional information, please visit the Rock Island Public Library website at www.rockislandlibrary.org, or call 309-732-READ.