Distinguished Lecture Series

Dr. Danielle Allen

James Bryant Conant University Professor
at Harvard University

April 2022 Distinguished Lecture

Dr. Danielle Allen is the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and a political theorist who has written broadly about democratic theory, political sociology, and the history of political thought. Inspired by her work in justice and citizenship.

Most Recent Books:

Cuz: or, the :Life and Times of Michael A. (2017) Allen recounts her heroic efforts to rescue Michael Alexander Allen, her beloved baby cousin, who was arrested at fifteen for an attempted carjacking.

Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (2014). "...an artful, often elegiac meditation on the meaning of Jefferson's famous words for our time." Joseph J. Ellis

Why Plato Wrote (2010) Why Plato Wrote argues that Plato was not only the world’s first systematic political philosopher, but also the western world’s first think-tank activist and message man.

Recent Articles:

Dr. Allen's articles and her contributions to the Washington Post are accessible to Boise State faculty, staff and students through an Albertsons Library subscription. Those without a Boise State affiliation are encouraged to consult your local public library for access.

A More Resilient Union. (2020). Foreign Affairs, 99, 33. 

Golden Letters: James Wilson, the Declaration of Independence, and the Sussex Declaration. (2019). Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy 17, 193.

Integration, Freedom, and the Affirmation of Life. (2018). In To Shape a New World (pp. 146-160). Harvard University Press.

A Democracy, If You Can Keep It. (2017) J19: The Journal of Nineteenth-Century Americanists, 5(2), 368-374.

Jason Riley

Wall Street Journal Columnist

March 2022 Distinguished Lecture

Jason Riley is an opinion columnist at The Wall Street Journal, where his column, Upward Mobility, has run since 2016. He is also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and speaks frequently on ABC, NBC, CNN, PBS and NPR on politics, economics, education, immigration and race.

Most Recent Books:

Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell (2021) On the life of one of America’s most influential conservative thinkers and writers.

False Black Power? (2017) An assessment of why black political success has not translated into more economic success.

Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed (2016) An assessment of welfare programs and their effect on Black Americans.

Wall Street Journal Columns:

Jason Riley's Wall Street Journal weekly columns are accessible to Boise State faculty, staff and students through an Albertsons Library subscription. Those without a Boise State affiliation are encouraged to consult your local public library for access.