Hall Center director to lecture on Margaret Thatcher at annual KU in Wichita event


Thu, 04/03/2014

author

Samantha Bishop-Simmons

WICHITA — The Hall Center for the Humanities, in partnership with the KU Alumni Association and its Wichita Chapter, will be hosting its KU in Wichita annual public symposium at the Wichita Museum of Art on Thursday, April 10. Victor Bailey, Charles Battey Distinguished Professor of Modern British History and director of the Hall Center, will present The Iron Lady: How Should We Rate Margaret Thatcher?” at 7 p.m. The special event is made possible by the Lattner Family Foundation. RSVP is required by April 3 to 785-864-9772.

Even in death, Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher divides and polarizes. Bailey examines Thatcher's political career, from leader of the Conservative Party to becoming the first female and longest-serving prime minister of the last century.

Looking at her efforts to transform an ailing economy, roll back the frontiers of the state and bring trade unionism within the rule of law, Bailey asks: What was Thatcherism? Was it good or bad for Britain? And how will Margaret Thatcher be rated as prime minister?

A native of Yorkshire, England, Bailey came to KU in 1988. He was trained at the Institute of Criminology in Cambridge and the Centre for the Study of Social History at Warwick University. He is a research student of E.P. Thompson. He was a research fellow at Worcester College, Oxford, and has held teaching appointments at the University of Rochester and the University of Hull. At KU, he received a Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. In 2000, he was appointed as director of the Hall Center for the Humanities.

Bailey released two publications in 2013: "Charles Booth’s Policemen: Crime, Police and Community in Jack-the-Ripper’s London" and "Order and Disorder in Modern Britain: Essays on Riot, Crime, Policing, and Punishment," both published by Breviary Stuff Publications.

Hall Center Advisory Board members in Wichita assisted with this program: Dana Hensley, Carol Nazar and Dr. Martha Selfridge Housholder.

The Hall Center’s public outreach efforts are designed to show the critical contribution that the humanities make to our understanding of the fundamental issues that we deal with as individuals and communities. As part of its commitment to this ideal, the Center sponsors a variety of events and lectures on campus and in surrounding communities.

Thu, 04/03/2014

author

Samantha Bishop-Simmons

Media Contacts

Victor Bailey

Hall Center for the Humanities

785-864-7822