Programs & Opportunities
2025-2025: American Identity
What does it mean to be “American”? How can the experiences of citizenship be mediated by diverse backgrounds?
2025 Upcoming Events
Tuesdays at 7pm
Reading Group
Are you eager to explore questions of faith, pluralism, and charitable public engagement? Our undergraduate Reading Group meets Tuesdays at 7pm in the Library. Join us for student-led conversations on readings that encourage deeper reflections and understanding of what it means to live a faithful life within a broader community. Contact crc@leeuniversity.edu for more information!
This group connects students to conferences and scholarship opportunities both on and off of campus, as well as providing free books and light refreshments.
May 27
Summer Seminar
“Grit & American Character”
Through a mixed cohort of Lee undergraduates and regional high-school students, we will use the lens of American fiction to consider the formal and informal institutions that shape our societal mores and vision of American Identity. This summer we are reading and discussing the American novel, True Grit. Click here for more information!
June 2-4
Seminar
“Founding Civics Institute”
Founding Civics Institute for Tennessee educators bringing together 25 regional middle and high school teachers. We will discuss primary sources from the American Founding with a view to their continued relevance.
2024 Past Events
February 28
Guest Lecture
“American Entrepreneurialism”
Guest lecture by Taylor Jones, co-founder and CEO of Whiteboard, on the relationship between American Entrepreneurialism and American Identity. Taylor explored how America’s entrepreneurial spirit can connect to the common good.
January 23
Discourse Dinner
In the spirit of our mission, we celebrated the new semester with a common meal and conversation. A small diverse group of students, faculty, and members of the community gathered at a professor’s home to chat about our year’s theme of “American Identity.”
October 18-19
Intercollegiate Symposium
“American Identity”
Our annual symposium considered how race informs American citizenship. The symposium will consist of several socratic-style discussion seminars, as well as a keynote lecture by Dr. Nicholas Buccola, the Elizabeth and Morris Glicksman Chair in Political Science at Linfield College.
September 13
Constitution Day Quiz Bowl & Lecture
Teams of high school students from across the state compete at Lee University on questions about the American Founding and Constitution. Lee undergraduates are involved in all aspects of the event, including serving as mentors for participating high school students.
Discourse Dinner
August 26
A small group of Lee students, alumni, faculty, and members of the community met over a shared meal. The discussion brought together persons from diverse disciplines and demographics to discuss various perspectives on visions of American Identity.
June 3
Summer Seminar
“Persecution & Perseverance”
Through a mixed cohort of undergraduates and regional high-school students this day-long Socratic style seminar used literature to emphasize the formal and informal institutions that shape modern liberal democracy. This year our theme was “Persecution & Perseverance” as we reflected on the role of faith in modern society through the lens of Graham Greene’s classic novel, The Power and the Glory.
May 29-31
“Founding Civics Institute”
Lee University
Seminar
Our first annual Founding Civics Institute for Tennessee educators bringing together 25 regional middle and high school teachers. We discussed primary sources from the American Founding with a view to their continued relevance. Lee’s Drs. Thomas Pope and Mark Scully alongside Dr. John McBride (co-author of A Teacher’s Guide to Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story).
