Dr. Susan Curtis, professor of history and American Studies at Purdue University, is the 12th Maxwell C. Weiner Distinguished Professor of Humanities to visit Missouri University of Science and Technology. This semester, Curtis is teaching a history course titled, “Cultural History of Economic Depressions in America.”

Curtis’ major publications have strived to demonstrate the interconnections among social formation, social change and cultural discourse. Her works highlight the role of ideas and cultural values in contests over power in the United States during the 20th century.

It may be too late to register for one of her classes this semester, but you can still catch two different lectures by Curtis. The professor will first give a lecture on Scott Joplin and his legacy from 3-4 p.m. Monday, April 15, in the Missouri Room of the Havener Center. She will give a second lecture on times of economic hardship in America from 3-4 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, in St. Pat’s B of the Havener Center. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

Missouri S&T’s Maxwell C. Weiner Distinguished Professorship in Humanities, established by an estate gift to the university in 1999, is rotated among S&T’s arts, languages and philosophy department, the English and technical communication department, and the history and political science department.

Weiner graduated from Missouri S&T when it was known as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy. He also studied at the University of Hawaii and at Washington University in St. Louis. He retired from Westinghouse Electric Corp.

For more information about either upcoming lecture, contact Missouri S&T’s history and political science department at 573-341-4801 or email Dr. Michael Bruening, interim chair of history and political science, at bruening@mst.edu.