By Mallory Chesser (’08) 

Fans of “The Human Situation,” rejoice. An upcoming event on October 18, The Ross M. Lence Dinner & Dialogues, will give guests the opportunity to relive their college seminar days through interactive discussion, in the style of the legendary great books course taken by all Honors College students. But instead of sitting in a classroom, guests will enjoy dinner and wine while tackling some of life’s biggest questions. 

The annual dinner, hosted in memory of Ross Lence, a popular faculty member and political theorist in the Honors College, will begin with a talk led by Dr. Jeffrey Church, who is the Ross M. Lence Distinguished Teaching Chair in the Department of Political Science. Church will speak on “Aristocracy and Democracy in Huckleberry Finn,” raising questions before turning the program over to conversation leaders at each table. Conversation will be facilitated by Honors College faculty and students minoring in Phronesis: A Program in Politics and Ethics.

Church is a political theorist whose research area is the history of modern political thought. He is the author of Nietzsche’s Culture of Humanity: Beyond Aristocracy and Democracy in the Early Period (Cambridge University Press) and Infinite Autonomy: the Divided Individual in the Political Thought of G.W.F. Hegel and Friedrich Nietzsche (Penn State Press). He was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship Grant in support of his forthcoming book, The Secular Spirit: Using Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and G. W. F. Hegel (1770-1831) to Understand Politics and the Meaning of Life.

While no homework is required, guests are welcome to reread The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Prior to the dinner presentation, guests are invited to attend a reception and silent auction where they may bid on books and memorabilia owned by Lence. Tickets are $25. Register online or learn more here.