Faculty note: Voelker channels Paine in Pittsburgh lecture


Historian David Voelker, associate professor of Humanistic Studies, recently delivered an invited lecture titled “‘To Begin the World Over Again’: Thomas Paine and the American Founding” for Grove City College’s American Founders Luncheon Series Lectures in downtown Pittsburgh. The talk focused on what Voelker calls Paine’s “civil religion of reason.” He also reflected on how Paine might respond to our 21st-century challenges, noting: “I think that if Paine were to visit us today, he would ask us questions about where power has accumulated in our society and how that has affected the prospects of equal opportunities for all. Paine believed that the earth was an inheritance equally of all people, present and future, so I imagine that he would also ask difficult questions about how we are stewarding this marvelous gift.” Voelker also gave a “shout out” to colleague Harvey Kaye, whose 2005 book, Thomas Paine and the Promise of America, informs his thinking about Paine’s legacy.