Hoag Lecture Series marks 25th year

The University of North Georgia (UNG) will host the 25th annual Hoag Lecture Series featuring Dr. Susan Neiman at 4 p.m. Feb. 16 via Zoom. Registration is required at go.ung.edu/hoaglectureseries22.

Neiman, an Atlanta native, will discuss her recent work "Learning From the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil," in which Neiman explores how Germans commemorate their history through monuments and symbols and how Americans commemorate theirs.

Dr. James Badger, director of UNG's Center for Language Education and professor in UNG's College of Education, recommended Neiman for the series.

"Recent discussions over the last few years have been looking at Confederate statues and monuments, raising questions for many about the presence and place of those historical symbols. The result has been some of them have been removed because of their connection to the past," Badger said. "In Neiman’s recent book, she describes the many statues and monuments in Germany to Jews who were killed during the Holocaust — and absence of Nazi memorials — to explain how Germans confront their past."

Neiman is director of the Einstein Forum. She earned her Ph.D. and master's degrees in philosophy at Harvard University and also completed graduate work at the Free University of Berlin. Previously Neiman was professor of philosophy at Yale University and Tel Aviv University. She has authored several works, including "Slow Fire: Jewish Notes from Berlin"; "The Unity of Reason: Rereading Kant"; "Evil in Modern Thought"; "Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-up Idealists"; and "Why Grow Up?".

"Her credentials and her publications are vast. She speaks to both the academic community and the general public," Badger said. "Her ideas are disseminated to a wider population, not just academics."

The aim of the series is to reflect former UNG President Merritt E. Hoag's educational philosophy that higher education should educate students beyond the traditional classroom environment and enable them to develop intellectual fullness by encouraging learning in a variety of disciplines.