Political science professor to give Constitution Day lecture

Dr. Aurelian Craiutu, a professor of political science at Indiana University Bloomington, will deliver Salve Regina’s annual Constitution Day lecture at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 15 in the Ochre Court state dining room.

In “Moderation, Partisanship and Free Speech: What the Founding Fathers Can Still Teach Us,” Craiutu will revisit lessons from our Founding Fathers, with special emphasis on George Washington’s farewell address. “I was no party man myself,” Washington wrote in the address, “and the first wish of my heart was, if parties did exist, to reconcile them.” While Washington tried to be non-partisan, Craiutu will argue that he was never neutral, lukewarm or indifferent to the common good, nor was he ever fanatic or single-minded in his devotion to his principles.

Craiutu has published extensively in the field of modern French political thought from Montesquieu to Raymond Aron. His publications include “Liberalism Under Siege: The Political Thought of the French Doctrinaires,” “Tocqueville on America After 1840,” “America Through European Eyes,” “A Virtue for Courageous Minds: Moderation in French Political Thought, 1748-1830” and “Faces of Moderation: The Art of Balance in an Age of Extremes.” He has received awards and grants from several institutions, including the Institute for Advanced Study and the American Council of Learned Societies.

Constitution Day became a national observance in 2004, when Congress passed a bill designating Sept. 17 as the day for citizens to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution and learn more about the nation’s founding document.