'Liberal' and 'conservative' in politics today

The history and status of liberalism and conservatism and how they relate to political issues of the day are the focus of this year's John M. Olin Center lecture series.

The series, "Liberalism and Conservatism Reconsidered," will begin today, Oct. 10, with a lecture by Wilson Carey McWilliams, professor of political science at Rutgers. Wilson will present "Times and Temperaments: Liberalism and Conservatism in the New Politics."

All of the lectures in autumn quarter will be held at 4 p.m. in Social Science 122.

"We intend not to repeat a standard debate between liberalism and conservatism in this lecture series, but to reconsider the meaning of both and explore alternative ways of articulating the issues we face," said Nathan Tarcov, Professor in Political Science and Director of the Olin Center.

"Among the topics our lecturers will address are the history of the terms 'liberal' and 'conservative' in American politics, what their status is in today's politics, and how they are related to controversies over race, family and religion."

The series continues this quarter with the lecture "Conservatism, Liberalism and the Cunning of Consensus" by John Patrick Diggins, professor of history at the City University of New York, on Thursday, Oct. 24, and "Constitutional Conservatism" by Harvey Mansfield, professor of government at Harvard, on Thursday, Oct. 31. Lectures will also be presented in the winter and spring quarters.

For more information, call 702-3423.