Dr. Thomas Pope, professor of political science at Lee and director of the CRC, leading a discussion session at the symposium

Symposium participants gather for a group photo

University of West Florida students participate in a discussion session during the CRC Symposium, held in Lee

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Lee University’s Center for Responsible Citizenship held its ninth annual Symposium on Civic Virtue and Thought. The two-day symposium brought together Lee students, faculty, alumni and members of the broader community to participate in a thought-provoking conversation on the year’s theme, “American Identity.”

“The goal of the symposium was to reflect, as a community, on what it means to be ‘American’ and how our experience of citizenship can be mediated by our diverse backgrounds,” said Audrey Haley, program coordinator of the CRC and former student of Lee. “We wanted to think thoughtfully about how race, in particular, impacts American citizenship.”

The event included several small group discussion seminars and a keynote lecture Friday evening. Readings included the 1965 debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr., selections from Baldwin’s “Letter from a Region in My Mind,” Frederick Douglass, Mary Antin, Theodore Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr.

“The symposium was a really fun experience, full of interesting discussions,” said Kaitlyn Stoker, a political science student at Lee University. “I particularly enjoyed reading the Buckley-Baldwin debate and being able to discuss that reading with others.”

This year, Dr. Nicholas Buccola, Elizabeth and Morris Glicksman Chair in Political Science at Linfield College, presented the keynote lecture. He discussed James Baldwin’s philosophy of love and patriotism, emphasizing Baldwin’s radical empathy and bold confrontation reflected in his novels and writings.

“I really enjoyed the symposium and its topic,” said Lee political science major Jeremy Draper. “It was a fruitful conversation about real-world issues approached from multiple angles. It really helps a person understand how to become a better person. and citizen in the context of the world around it and, for these reasons, fully encapsulates the purpose of the undergraduate experience.

The “American Identity” symposium was just one of many opportunities offered by the CRC throughout the academic year. Through its weekly events and meetings, the CRC hopes to facilitate, equip and encourage students to think critically. In a time full of conflict and confusion about Christian engagement in the world, this is a place where all can discuss and learn the fundamental necessity of moral and civic virtue in political life.

CRC thanks Lee University, its alumni, the Jack Miller Center, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the Institute for Humane Studies, and members of the Cleveland community at large, for their continued support. Their generous contributions make CRC programming possible.

For more information about the CRC or to get involved in its activities, visit leeucrc.com or contact [email protected].