Annual Montesquieu Forum Focuses on the Work of Herman Melville

Roosevelt University recently welcomed Dr. John Wenke as the featured lecturer for the College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences' Montesquieu Forum. The distinguished professor and Herman Melville scholar delivered a lecture entitled "Melville's Make-Over: The Climactic Case of The Confidence-Man." Dr. Wenke was invited by Roosevelt professor of philosophy Stuart D. Warner, who introduced Wenke and the day's program. Dr. John Wenke is a writer and professor from Salisbury State University in Maryland. He holds degrees in English from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Connecticut. Dr. Wenke's specialties include 19th and 20th century American literature, including the works of J.D. Salinger, Mark Twain and the subject of this lecture: Herman Melville.

Roosevelt students and community members were treated to a reading of excerpts from Dr. Wenke's writing on Herman Melville's final novel, The Confidence-Man, a piece of literature that has confounded literary critics and scholars since its publication on April Fool's Day in 1857. This text was being read by University students and faculty, including students from the Politics & Literature class, as well as the Philosophy in Literature class. In the University's historic Sullivan Room, audience members listened intently with copies of the novel, notepads and laptops on hand to actively engage with the speaker. The lecture illuminated the intersectional nature of a degree in the humanities, and how these Roosevelt courses enable students to engage with a cross section of studies.

Dr. Wenke's lecture served as a brief introduction to Melville's Confidence-Man that was accessible to those who were both familiar and unfamiliar with the text. The essence of the lecture centered on how Melville continued to reinvent himself as an author throughout his career. The resulting lecture was both informative and inspiring, as it traversed Melville's history while revealing insights for any aspiring writer or philosopher. The Montesquieu Forum concluded with a lively discussion between Dr. Wenke and the audience members. Among the audience was one of the foremost biographers of Herman Melville, having published several volumes on the writer's life.

The Montesquieu Forum was founded in 2008 to further the study of political philosophy within the Roosevelt community. This year's event with Dr. John Wenke was a welcome addition to the annual series of public lectures.

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