Reading Lincoln

A.  Reading Lincoln

David Zarefsky, Owen L. Coon Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies

(PLEASE NOTE – NO CLASSES ON OCT. 23)

COURSE IS CLOSED.

We will celebrate the Illinois bicentennial by studying selected speeches and writings of our state’s favorite son, Abraham Lincoln. We will begin with his earliest public discourse and proceed to the end of his presidency. We’ll see Lincoln as a young Whig, explore how he was transformed by the issues of slavery, and track his rise from a mid-level state politician to arguably the greatest resident in U.S. history. His own words will be our primary texts, enabling us to see how he found creative opportunities for expression and how he dealt with constraints.