The Events

Compulsion at the Rialto

September 16, 2023 6:30pm No charge

In 1924, the Rialto Theater in Searcy, AR was built. In 1924, two young men, Leopold and Loeb committed a horrifying murder of a young boy - just to prove they could. In 1959, director Richard Fleischer brought that narrative to light in the classic film Compulsion. Join us at the Rialto to see a one-time-only screening of Compulsion with scholars of political science, Dr. Steve Breezeel; communication, Dr. Charles Bane; and Biblical theology, Dr. Mac Sandlin.

Robert Frost Poetry Walk

September 25, 2023 4:30pm-6:30pm No charge

In 1924, Robert Frost won the first of his four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. His compilation, New Hampshire, included one of his most famous poems "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening." Frost was also known for his love of taking his friends on botany walks and showing them favorite plants. Thanks to the help of Harding's English and Biology departments, you can experience a botany walk around Harding's campus this afternoon and at each stop hear one of Frost's poems from New Hampshire.

The poetry walk will be available at your convenience from 4:30-6:30 pm. There are two path options. You can pick up a map of the stations in the American Studies lobby.

Dr. Jeremy Kinney - 1920s Aviation

October 19, 2023 7:00 pm Cone Chapel

The world of aviation was forever changed in 1924 when U.S. Army Air Servicemen completed the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe. Join us as Dr. Jeremy Kinney speaks about 1920s aviation. Dr. Kinney is the Associate Director for Research and Curatorial Affairs at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian.

The student winners of the Flight Around World contest will be drawn at this event.

Dr. Kevin Klein - The 1924 Abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate and the Birth of the Modern Middle East

October 30, 2023 4;30pm Holland-Waller Commons

On March 3, 1924, after considerable maneuvering, Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern secular state of Turkey, succeeded in having the Islamic religious office of Caliph abolished in the wake of the fall of the Ottoman Empire. For nearly a thousand years at least one Caliph had laid claim as the principal leader of the Umma - the worldwide fellowship of Muslims. In its absence Ataturk proposed a secular state. Such a division of the religious and the political spheres represented a major departure from the past. It also would not go unchallenged. In Arabia, Egypt, and elsewhere, opponents rallied to the standards of authorities who promised a return to a unified Umma under a governance united in its political and religious forms. Within a year Ibn Saud had conquered Mecca and placed it under his family's stewardship, and the forerunner of the Muslim Brotherhood had assassinated the British Governor-General of Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood would offer a modern expression of Islamization - a complete integration, of the state, the economy, and society into one system under Islamic law. The House of Saud would become the absolute authority of the holiest sites of Islam and the most powerful single player in the emerging global necessity of oil. All the while, Turkey would try to embrace a more Western influenced vision while both a Muslim majority country, and a member of NATO.

Dr. Beverly Gage - J. Edgar Hoover

November 2, 2023 7:00 pm Cone Chapel

Dr. Dale Manor - "Looking both Directions: Biblical Archaeology in the 1920s"

November 9, 2023 4:30pm Holland-Waller Commons

A survey of exploration of biblical lands in the 1920s.

Dr. David Adams & Dr. Liann Gallagher - The Death of Vladimir Lenin and the Birth of His Personality Cult

December 4, 2023 4:30 pm Holland-Waller Commons

In 1924, Vladimir Lenin dies, but the idea of him lives on through his personality cult. How can a man be both so reviled and so beloved by different audiences? Join us for a discussion of the source and power of Lenin's personality cult.

Caricturista - Miguel Covarrubias Exhibit

January 8-February 14, 2024 Stevens Art Building

Tuba Skinny Concert

RESCHEDULED

Dr. David Kee - Harding: A Prequel

January 18, 2024 4:30pm Holland-Waller Commons

The history of Harding University before there was a Harding is a fascinating story of principled allegiance, entrepreneurial realism, and committed devotion by a small group of faithful educators. This presentation will highlight the tumultuous path the creation of this institution.

Dr. Thomas Tacoma - Calvin Coolidge

January 30, 2024 7:00 pm Holland-Waller Commons

From "Silent Cal" to penny-pinching miser to the man who napped away his time in the White House, there are many images of Calvin Coolidge that survive to this day. Dr. Tacoma helps us evaluate how much truth there is to these pictures to help us remember Coolidge and his times more accurately.

Dr. Jason Jewell - Recovering the Moral Imagination: Irving Babbitt's "Democracy and Leadership" at 100

February 6, 2024 Holland Waller Commons

2024 seems likely to deliver a presidential election featuring two candidates who are both disliked by the majority of the electorate. Many have begun to ask: Does democracy produce good leaders? Irving Babbitt, one of the 20th century's great but underappreciated thinkers, addressed this question in his landmark 1924 book, "Democracy and Leadership," which has important lessons for us to recover 100 years after it was published.