WHO:             Speaker: Thomas Sugrue, professor of history and sociology, University                        of Pennsylvania

                        Introduced by: Michael B. Katz, professor of history and interim chair,                         Penn History Department

WHAT:           “Thinking With the Past” inaugural lecture

WHEN:           Thursday, Feb. 23, 5 p.m.

WHERE:         Annenberg School for Communication, Room 110, 3620 Walnut St.,                         Philadelphia

A specialist in 20th-century American politics, urban history, civil rights and race, Thomas Sugrue will discuss the evolution of President Obama's understanding of race, inequality and division in the United States from his days as a community organizer through his time as a law student and attorney to his rise to power as a charismatic candidate and elected official. Following the talk, Sugrue will sign copies of his book Not Even Past: Barack Obama and the Burden of Race. 

The “Thinking with the Past” lecture series will be held in the Annenberg School and are free and open to the public. The next events in the series are:

Wednesday, March 28

David Ruderman, professor of Jewish history and author of The People and the Book: Print and the Transformation of Jewish Culture

Thursday, April 12

Stephanie McCurry, professor of history and author of Confederate Reckoning

Additional information is available from Nari Baughman at nlinette@sas.upenn.edu.