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Ed Peterson Lecture Series Presents Democracy Scholar Elaine May

Sept. 24, 2010--The fourth annual Edward N. Peterson Lecture Series begins Oct. 6 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

The 2010 lecturer is Professor Elaine May from the University of Minnesota. May’s presentation, “Security Against Democracy: The Legacy of the Cold War at Home,” will be given at 5 p.m. in the Kinnickinnic River Theater of the University Center. A reception will precede the lecture at 4 p.m. in the University Center’s Ames Gallery.

The lecture is based on May’s examination of the Cold War at home, and topics such as democracy and security during the Cold War.

“May explores the tension between the quest for democracy and the quest for national personal security in the nuclear age when dangers were perceived both within and outside of the nation,” says Betty Bergland, UWRF professor of history.

May began teaching at the University of Minnesota in 1978 and has been working jointly in the History and American Studies Department since 1989. May has been named as Regent’s Professor, and has also been honored with the 2006 Distinguished Women Scholars’ Award, a Fulbright Scholar award, and the McKnight Research Award. May has authored three books and has helped co-author and co-edit several others.

May also has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University and at the University College Dublin, Ireland, Bergland mentions.

“The History and Philosophy Department established the endowed lecture series to focus on topics at the core of his academic life: war and peace, abuses and limits of power, and the struggle for democracy in the twentieth century,” notes Bergland.

This annual series is funded by donations from students, alumni, faculty, friends, and the Peterson family. Peterson, professor of history from 1954-2005 at UW-River Falls, had a passion for teaching topics relating to World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Peterson also wrote ten books concerning Germany in the twentieth century.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://www.uwrf.edu/HIST/PetersonLectureSeries.cfm or call 715-425-3164.

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Last updated: Friday, 24-Sep-2010 13:38:45 Central Daylight Time