Living Room Learning Lecture by Dr. Dominic Erdozain (Week 3)

Dr. Dominic Erdozain takes the stage at McElreath Hall on Monday, Feb 8, for the third lecture in the Living Room Learning series. He's titled this one The World's Best Hope? Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Patriotism, and it builds around Jefferson's first inaugural address, where he called the United States the "world's best hope."

Erdozain isn't a stranger to the subject. He's written several books, including One Nation Under Guns and To Love a Country: the Problem of Patriotism in America, so this lecture sits right in his wheelhouse. He's an Oxford and Cambridge man who taught for years at King's College London before moving to Atlanta to work as a freelance writer, and he brings that academic background to the table without turning it into a dry seminar.

The lecture is part of Living Room Learning, which is back for its 58th year. It started with a group of Sweet Briar College alumnae—Atlanta women who held classes in their living rooms after graduating—and grew from twelve women to hundreds of people before moving into a formal lecture hall. The Atlanta History Center took over as host in 2013 and now coordinates the whole thing, which offers university-level lectures on history, art, literature, and more. There's no final exam, and every session is recorded for ticket buyers, so you can revisit the talk later if you want.

This is the third of seven lectures in the series, and the full package covers all of them. The lecture starts at 2 PM, with doors opening at 1:30 PM. Tickets are $130 for Insiders and Members and $150 for Not-Yet Members, though all packages are currently sold out. You'll find it at McElreath Hall, inside the Atlanta History Center at 130 W Paces Ferry Road.