Dr. Robert E. Wright, Nef Family Chair of Political Economy and Director of the Thomas Willing Institute, will discuss "How Low Will We Go? Long-term Perspectives on a Flailing Economy" at the Augustana Thought Leader Forum at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, February 24, at CJ Callaway's Event Center.

Reserved tickets are $20 and include lunch. Tickets at the door are $25. To order, visit www.augietickets.com or call 605.274.4404.

All forums are held at CJ Callaway's Event Center (69th & Minnesota) beginning at 11:30 a.m. Reserved tickets are $20 and include lunch. Reserve tickets at www.augietickets.com or call 605.274.4404 for more information. Tickets at the door are $25. (A $3.50 fee for US mailed orders only.)

Upcoming Speakers

Dr. Robert E. Wright
Nef Family Chair of Political Economy and Director of the Thomas Willing Institute
Topic: "How Low Will We Go? Long Term Perspectives on a Flailing Economy"
Friday, February 24, 2012

Dr. Robert Wright received his B.A. in history, summa cum laude, from Buffalo State College in 1990, his M.A. in history from State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in 1994, and his Ph.D. from SUNY at Buffalo in 1997. Before coming to Augustana, Dr. Wright served as Clinical Associate Professor of Economics at the Stern School of Business, New York University. He was also a guest curator for the Museum of American Finance. Dr. Wright has written for Barron's, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes.com, and other prominent publications. He has appeared on National Public Radio, C-SPAN, and BBC, as well as several South Dakota stations.

In addition to editing three series of primary source documents for Pickering and Chatto Publishers, Dr. Wright has authored or co-authored ten books, including One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson and the History of What We Owe (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), which explores the untold history of America's first national debt, arising from the immense sums needed to conduct the American Revolution. Another title, Financial Founding Fathers (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006), is a compelling account of the nation's early finances. Dr. Wright's latest book, Fubarnomics: A Lighthearted, Serious Look at America's Economic Ills (Prometheus, 2010), has been called "a welcome new addition to the societal/economic/political discourse that is raging now."

In 2010, Dr. Wright established the Thomas Willing Institute for the Study of Financial Markets, Institutions, and Regulations at Augustana College to promote the public's understanding of the financial system.

Dr. Joel A. Johnson
Associate Professor of Government and International Affairs
Topic:  "2012 and Beyond: The Challenges of Governance in an Age of Globalization, Hyperpartisanship, and Mistrust"
Thursday, March 29, 2012

Dr. Joel Johnson is Associate Professor of Government and International Affairs at Augustana College. He received his Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University, where he also served as Lecturer on Government. During 2010-11 he served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in the Department of British and American Studies at Philipps-Universität Marburg in Hessen, Germany. In that capacity, he taught courses in American politics, history, and culture, in addition to giving more than a dozen public lectures throughout Germany and Italy. His primary research interests include American political thought, politics and literature, and theories of justice. He is the author of Beyond Practical Virtue: A Defense of Liberal Democracy through Literature (University of Missouri Press, 2007), as well as journal articles and book chapters on the American founding, Mark Twain's views on imperialism, and moral argumentation in Uncle Tom's Cabin. His latest work is a chapter on South Dakota's literature in The Plains Political Tradition: Essays on South Dakota's Political Culture (South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2011). At Augustana, Dr. Johnson teaches courses on political philosophy, politics and literature, and Asian politics. He also advises both the department's honors program and Augustana's government club, the Committee of Undergraduate Political Scientists (C.O.U.P.S.).

View Other Past Forum Sessions and Speakers

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