“The Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln As A Philosopher Statesman”
What constitutes Lincoln's greatness? While the elusive whole is larger than the sum of any part, Fornieri argues that Lincoln's political greatness combined greatness of thought and action, of speech and deed. Lincoln was a rare individual included in the likes of Aristotle, Tocqueville, and the Founders whose teaching on human nature and society provides enduring lessons about our democracy and its core principle of equality. Borrowing from the insights of the field of political philosophy, Fornieri discusses Lincoln as a Philosopher Statesman who united intellectual and moral virtue in the same character.
We will be honored to welcome our distinguished speaker for the evening: Dr Joseph R. Fornieri, Professor of Political Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Director of the Center for Statesmanship, Law, and Liberty, a non-partisan organization that seeks to enhance the study of political greatness and responsible citizenship at the secondary and college levels.
An award-winning instructor, Fornieri teaches classes in American political thought and leadership, rhetoric, political philosophy, and the First Amendment. In 2009, he was awarded a Fulbright as a Lecturer at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic. He is an expert on the political thought and statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and the author-editor of nine books, including: Abraham Lincoln’s Political Faith and Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher Statesman. He is editor of American Statesmanship, Principles and Practice of Leadership form Notre Dame University Press, 2021. Fornieri is a board member of the Lincoln Forum, Senior Fellow at Founding Forward, board member and speaker for Teaching American History. He works with secondary teachers across the country to enrich content. He is the author of an accessible introductory The First Amendment: Core Documents by TAH and Ashbrook that has been popular with teachers and students. He is now working on a book that compares the political thought and leadership of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, which will be released by Notre Dame University Press.
His Prager videos are used for curricula in select school districts throughout the country, receiving as many as a million views each. On the side, he plays folk, blues, and rock guitar and harmonica and with The Fornieri Brothers Band with his brother Peter and his nephew Joseph.
Location: Draught 55, at 245 East 55th (next to Second Avenue)