Public Scholars at
Hanover College
Inquiries
Volume Three, Number One - Fall 2002
The Spirit of Discovery
This issue of Inquiries is dedicated to the spirit of discovery. Normally, we feature an essay generated by the give-and-take of our Symposium Series. This time, however, we are pleased to offer an essay from a scholar, James J. Holmberg, who has been a frequent participant in one of our more light-hearted programs - the Crowe Academy.
Named after John Finley Crowe, the founder of Hanover College, the Crowe Academy is a two-and-a-half day educational experience that consists of lectures, seminars, and participatory experiences on a selected topic. Since its inception in the summer of 1999, it has evolved into a participatory public history experience in which old and new friends of the Center and the College take over our beautiful campus on the bluffs of the Ohio River, relax, and pursue knowledge for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Jim Holmberg, Curator of Special Collections at the Filson Historical Society, has lent his expertise and his easy-going manner to the festivities on two occasions - in the summer of 1999, when we explored the "Civil War in Kentuckiana;" and in the summer of 2001, when we helped the nation celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
In this issue, fresh from the successful debut of Dear Brother: Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark (Yale University Press, 2002), which he edited and for which he wrote the introduction, Jim Holmberg offers us an analysis and a reminder of the meaning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the American psyche.
Jeffrey Brautigam
Jeffrey Brautigam is the Director of the Center for Free Inquiry at Hanover College, where he also teaches modern European history and the history of science.