Students, faculty, and alumni from Lee University recently traveled with the Center for Responsible Citizenship (CRC) to Belmont, North Carolina, to attend a Jack Miller Center conference hosted by the Honors College at Belmont Abbey College (BAC).

The conference was organized by Dr. Joseph Wysocki, BAC’s interim provost and dean of the Honors College, and modeled on programming offered by the CRC. It is part of an annual series dedicated to examining the intellectual and cultural challenges of modern political life, taking principles discussed in the classroom and applying them with a view to engaged Christian citizenship. Students and faculty from several institutions joined in lectures and discussion seminars over the course of two days.

This year’s conference theme was “The Political Thought of Flannery O’Connor.” Readings included selections from O’Connor’s short stories. O’Connor’s work is traditionally classified as Southern Gothic and focuses on grotesque circumstances with highly caricatured characters in tragic circumstances. The conference included lectures from Drs. Jerome Foss and Farrell O’Gorman–experts on the thought and writings of O’Connor. These lectures and discussion sessions provided an avenue for students to come together and consider faith, modern western society, and the interactions between the two, promoting a charitable Christian response to a dominant culture rife with schism and violence.

“I very much appreciate the thoughtful conversations which went on during the BAC conference,” said Hobert Brabson, a biochemistry major at Lee. “I found it interesting how others viewed different metaphors and symbols which Flannery O’Connor often uses in response to modern day events. I also grew in appreciation of O’Connor and work she has done that I otherwise would likely not have been exposed to had it not been for the conference.”

This conference was one of several symposium-style events Lee’s CRC has either hosted or participated in directly.

The CRC revitalizes community through charitable dialogue on the questions that connect people. Through both the content and form of these conversations, the CRC brings together individuals and recasts them as citizens – vital members of a community who share in the common labor of flourishing.

For information about upcoming events hosted by the CRC, visit www.leeucrc.com or email [email protected].