A Reagan Forum and Book Signing with Dr. Wilfred McClay

Please join us for a discussion with Dr. Wilfred McClay, the Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine, as he discusses “Recovering the American Story: Consciousness and the American Past” at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on November 15th. This event is free to attend; however, books must be purchased in the Reagan Library Museum Store to receive signature. Books may be pre-purchased during the reservation process.

All great human enterprises, including great nations, need an animating narrative, a story both true and mythic in character, a story that links its past, present, and future in a seamless web of meaning and aspiration. This is particularly true for the United States, a nation unlike any other, whose ideals and history cannot be understood apart from one another. However, for a variety of reasons, ranging from the corrosive effects of our popular culture to the fragmented view of the American past promoted by academic historians, we have been steadily losing a sense of our past as a source of strength and sustenance for the tasks ahead. How can we correct this problem? The lecture will explore the possibilities.

Following the program, Dr. McClay will be in the Reagan Library’s Museum Store to sign copies of his latest book, Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story (Publish Date: May 21, 2019). Land of Hope is a compact, authoritative, and  compulsively  readable  book  that  will offer to American readers a clear, informative, and inspiring narrative account of their own country.

Dr. Wilfred M. McClay is the Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy. He is also the G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty at the University of Oklahoma, and the Director of the Center for the History of Liberty. He is a member of the U.S. Commission on the Semi-quincentennial, which has been charged with planning the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026. He is a graduate of St. John’s College and received his PhD in History from John Hopkins University.

Although registration for this event is closed, this is a free event and everyone is still welcome to attend both the program and book signing (books must be purchased at the Reagan Library Museum Store to receive signature). Please join us at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 15th!