UIS Lincoln Legacy Lecture will examine "Lincoln and the Environment"

The 2009 Lincoln Legacy Lecture presented by the University of Illinois Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, October 15, in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This year’s topic is “Lincoln and the Environment”. The lecture and a reception that will immediately follow are free and open to the public.

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars to Springfield to discuss issues that, while they are of contemporary interest, also engaged Abraham Lincoln and citizens of his era.

This year’s featured speaker – Dr. Mark Fiege, associate professor of History and the William E. Morgan Chair of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University, Ft. Collins – will focus on Lincoln’s experience of nature. Dr. Michael Burlingame, professor of History and Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, will make opening remarks and moderate the discussion.

In his lecture, “Land of Lincoln: Environmental History and the 16th President," Dr. Fiege will examine how Lincoln’s unique political thought, rhetoric and leadership were grounded in his experience of nature – both the natural environment and human nature – while growing up and working in the forests, fields and rivers of pioneer settlements.

Dr. Fiege is the author of a book on the environmental history of the United States that is forthcoming from the University of Washington Press in its Weyerhaeuser Environmental Series. He has been the recipient of best article and book awards from the Idaho Library Association, the Forest History Society and various professional associations. In addition to teaching, he directs the Center for Public History and Archaeology at CSU, whose projects are funded in part by the National Park Service. Dr. Fiege received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

Program moderator Michael Burlingame is a preeminent scholar in Lincoln Studies. He taught History at Connecticut College for over 30 years before accepting the appointment at UIS this year. His recent two-volume biography, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008) has been described as the definitive study.

Presented by the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership, this year’s event is being held in conjunction with the 24th Annual Lincoln Colloquium hosted by the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Oct. 16-18. Cosponsors of this year's lecture are: Engaged Citizenship Speaker Series, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Public Affairs and Administration, UIS Speakers' Awards Committee, and WUIS Public Radio.

In previous years, lectures have focused on Lincoln and Race (2002), Ethics and Power (2004), Lincoln and Economic Opportunity (2005), Lincoln and America’s Faith (2006), Lincoln and the Law (2007), and Lincoln and Presidential Campaign Politics (2008).

Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however overflow seating will be available in conference room C/D, where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Conference room C/D is located on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center at UIS. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

For more information, contact the Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-7094.

Watch the entire Legacy Lecture in the Video on Demand section