Contact information
Name:
Susan Averett
Phone:
610-330-5307
Email:
averetts@lafayette.edu
Link for More Information:
Categories:
When:
Thursday, April 9, 2026 - 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Where:
Oechsle 224
Presenter:
Dr. Howard Bodenhorn - Clemson University
Price:
Free
Dr. Bodenhorn, a leading economic historian at Clemson University will give a general interest lecture on an ongoing project titled, The Economics of Crime and Punishment in the Prohibition-Era South. The lecture will offer a critical historical lens that aligns with bicentennial themes of institutional evolution and enduring societal challenges. This presentation will explore how economic incentives influenced the application of justice during a key period of national social experimentation. Dr. Bodenhorn will provide the audience with a framework to help us recognize relevant parallels between the economic pressures on the justice system a century ago (as the College's enrollment grew from 500 to 1000 students) and the ongoing policy debates regarding mass incarceration and penal labor today. This will thus position the bicentennial not only as a celebration of the past, but as an impetus for contemporary civic discussion.
Sponsored by:
Bicentennial Academic Fund and the Dept of Economics