IN PERSON: This course explores the complex life and legacy of Thomas Jefferson — Founding Father, revolutionary thinker and man of contradictions. We will place Jefferson within the world of 18th-century Virginia, in a society built on a slave-based economy, even as he embraced Enlightenment ideals of liberty, reason and human potential. Jefferson’s life spanned the Colonial era, the American Revolution and the early years of the republic, and his influence — as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence — still echoes every July 4th. Yet Jefferson’s legacy is not without controversy. His views on race and slavery and his role as a slaveholder have prompted renewed scrutiny, revealing both the limits of his time and the complexities of his character. Participants will examine how Jefferson shaped the young nation through his vision of republicanism, belief in civic virtue, religious tolerance and enduring curiosity across fields as varied as architecture, science and education. | Lecture + Q&A.
Max enrollment: 35.
Location: Croasdaile Few Chapel, 2600 Croasdaile Farm Parkway, Durham NC 27705
