As groups across the political spectrum present competing narratives about the American founding and America’s political ideals from 1776, how can Americans sift through the opposing claims and understand that era’s historical complexity while remaining true to the evidence?

This is the question Harvard University Professor Jane Kamensky will pose during her Sept. 19 lecture "1776 and Us: Finding the Founding in a Foundering Democracy" at Arizona State University’s Memorial Union. Harvard University Professor Jane Kamensky.

The lecture marking the 2022 Annual Constitution Day is co-sponsored by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, the Center for Constitutional Design at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU and the Jack Miller Center.

Registration is now open for in-person attendance.

“From the very beginning, the history and study of the American Revolution have been bound up with the national identity of the United States, and in recent years, the competing imperatives of activists and journalists at both edges of our ideological spectrum have produced warring narratives of the American founding,” said Kamensky, who is the Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University and the Pforzheimer Foundation Director of the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

“Their accounts of the founding era offer competing ​​interpretations of the founding era: slavery versus liberty, original sin versus germinal gift, villains versus heroes. While this work highlights the predicaments of the era, both approaches owe more to politics than to history,” she added.

In this lecture, Kamensky will discuss how we can equip ourselves and our students with an understanding of the revolutionary era that is rigorous, complex and, above all, true to the evidence.

“Our school is leading ASU’s celebrations of the quarter-millenium mark of our country’s independence, which will culminate in 2025–26 with a full consideration of the Founding Era, from the Declaration of Independence through the Bill of Rights, and their enduring effect on American history and contemporary identity,” said Paul Carrese, founding director of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at ASU.

“Professor Kamensky’s address will be a warning about the risks we face as competing factions distort historical evidence to support their political motives. Our school remains dedicated to the rigorous study of our democratic republic, its extraordinary successes and continuing challenges to living up to its high ideals — and to civil discussion and debate about these crucial topics," he said.

“We are honored to co-sponsor Professor Kamensky’s lecture on a day on which we celebrate our constitutional heritage,” said Stefanie Lindquist, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Design at ASU. “As the world’s oldest and most longstanding written constitution, the U.S. Constitution is a remarkable instrument that has sustained self-governance for over two centuries. It is fitting that we celebrate it by hearing from such a distinguished scholar and historian."

A historian of British America and the United States, Kamensky is the author of numerous books, including "A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley" (2016), which won four major prizes and was a finalist for several others. Kamensky is a former commissioner of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, serves as a trustee of the Museum of the American Revolution, and is one of the principal investigators on the NEH/ Department of Education-funded initiative, Educating for American Democracy. Carrese first met Kamensky when they collaborated on that national project from 2019 to 2021.

This fall, Arizona State University students will have a chance to gain a deeper understanding of economics by diving into the history of economic thought — from the classical political economy of Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill to contemporary concerns about trade, economic growth and money.

In the process, they will notice that many of today’s concerns are echoed in the issues that led to the development of economic theories in the last 300 years.  Course in the fall of 2022 focuses on the history of economic thought

CEL 304/ECN 304 Classical to Modern Economic Thought, offered by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership and cross-listed with the Economics Department at the W. P. Carey School of Business, is taught by Professor Ross Emmett, who is also the director of the Center for the Study of Economic Liberty at ASU and currently the president of the History of Economics Society. 

We spoke with Emmett about what ASU students can expect from this course.

Question: What will students experience in this course?

Answer: I believe that students learn best when they read, write, discuss and then write again about the topic over weekly sequences. In this course, each week we will turn to new reading material about economic thought. Students will read and write about these texts at the start of each week, we then discuss the new topic, and they will be able to write extended papers on texts from key points in the history of the “clash” between economic thoughts — for example, J. M. Keynes’ lecture “The End of Laissez-Faire,” Walter Eucken’s “On the Theory of the Centrally Administered Economy” and Jim Buchanan’s “Public Finance and Public Choice.” By the time the students turn in those topic papers, we will begin the next set of readings and they will be ready to incorporate new ideas by setting them in conversation with what we have already read, written and discussed.

ASU Professor Ross Emmett

Q:  How will students be introduced to the history of economic thought?

A:  The course begins with the question of whether “laissez-faire” has ended, and then examines other points in the history of economic thought when economists believed laissez-faire was over – the Progressive Era at the end of the 1800s, the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Keynesian Revolution of the 1930s and the 1970s. In the course, students will have the opportunity to work out their own ideas about socialism, Keynesianism, classical liberalism, Marxism, economic development and the background to today’s debates over free trade, inflation, government finances, and the impact of individual economic activity on others and on the environment.

Q: Which skills will students in this course develop through readings, in-class discussions and projects?

A: They will learn how to think about economic ideas and to refine their ideas through interaction with each other in class. They may also learn how to approach ideas they may have never heard before or had always opposed, with an openness to figure out how those ideas worked. In class and in their writings, they will develop the ability to express more clearly their ideas about economics, and formulate or accept new ideas because they will be encouraged to evaluate them in their own writing and in open discussion with their classmates.

Q:  What skills will the course provide students for engagement in job searches and life?

A:  Economics is about choices — how we evaluate their benefits and costs, and the inevitability of having to make a choice that is seldom perfect. We operate with imperfect knowledge, have fewer choices than we wish we did, and yet still have to make a decision today. Engaging the scholars who tried to help us think about economic choices is essential to our lives and to the society in which we live.

Classical to Modern Economic Thought is available during Session C from 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Tempe campus, and enrollment is open. 

Most individuals are interested in one area of study, try to master one skill, and – if they are lucky – strive to succeed in one career track. That is not the case with Ariana Afshari, an outstanding neurobiology researcher, a talented artist and a thoughtful thinker interested in philosophy, morality and ethics.

The spring 2022 Dean’s Medalist for the School of Life Sciences earned a biological sciences major and a minor in civic and economic thought and leadership from the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership — and interweaving science and the humanities was a planned decision. Ariana Afshari is dedicated to breaking down barriers separating the scientific community, the humanities and the arts. Download Full Image

“I knew I would have an emphasis in STEM, and I looked for a complementary component that would make me a holistic learner in the future,” Afshari said. 

Afshari is a rare student.

This summer, Afshari begins an impressive mission: to simultaneously do research in developmental neuroscience at Stanford Medical School and teach biology in the Bay Area through Teach for America at a school serving an underrepresented community, where 98% of students are Hispanic. After that, she will apply to medical school.

“My goal is to serve communities that look like me, that come from a background like me,” she said. 

“I grew up in a low-income Hispanic household. There is a lot that you can learn from serving those communities, but certain topics are difficult to teach. One thing is to learn about it; the other thing is to live it. And I believe that there are indescribable factors that equip me to serve these communities I come from. Hopefully, I can be in a community that resonates with my background growing up.”

Bridging science and humanities 

Afshari's plans to earn a multidisciplinary college education began in the spring of her first year at ASU, when she applied for the course Shakespeare's Leadership Lessons. The course, which is taught in Prescott, Arizona, solidified her interest in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership as a complementary part of her career. 

“I was wary about a full immersion into Shakespeare, of reading the texts from beginning to end, acting them out, and not only to get the meaning of what the characters are saying but also grappling with what they are saying. But I walked in, and everyone was in the same boat and wanting to learn. We all walked away with something really valuable,” she said.

“I loved the experience. Learning in the pines, where you are vulnerable, where you get a raw experience of learning, is a lot different from learning in a traditional setting."

Ariana Afshari (bottom row, third from right) in Prescott, Arizona, with the cohort of students in the course Shakespeare's Leadership Lessons.

Afshari then joined the cohort of students who traveled to New Delhi for the Global Intensive Experience: SCETL Leadership and Service in India, where they studied and discussed the history, culture and politics of India, and reflected on global leadership and citizenship.

But when the pandemic hit, it became evident that the scientific community and parts of the American civil society (and other societies around the world) were at odds, particularly on matters related to public health policies versus individual liberties. 

You can teach someone to be a good doctor, but you can’t teach a doctor to have empathy. The education offered at SCETL teaches you what other disciplines can’t teach you: how to be human aligned with your values.

– Ariana Afshari

As the global crisis unfolded, Afshari noticed an urgent need for cross-disciplinary conversations between health professionals, policymakers, professionals working tirelessly on the frontlines, professors, etc. 

Ariana Afshari (center) with Clinical Assistant Professor Susan Carrese in New Delhi during the GIE course SCETL Leadership and Service in India.

“I realized that we must develop interdisciplinary understanding and support about how each of these disciplines interacts with one another. That’s when it came to light what I was looking for at SCETL. I was trying to find something at the cusp of philosophy that I could bring to science,” she said.

This pivoting starts with each individual, she said.

“I see the interaction between disciplines as not even complementary, but necessary. It makes you better all around. It’s great to be specialized, but it’s even more important to be aware and prudent about how your discipline affects others.”

Afshari's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership courses allowed her to exercise an important habit: questioning. The Socratic method utilized by School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership professors encourages students to participate in discussions and question what they are taught, which is something Afshari believes enables students to be more successful in their fields.

“I’m better in my STEM classes because of SCETL, but I’m also better in my SCETL classes because of my STEM major,” she said, adding that she had not “seen an education like this before. (In STEM classes), you’re never going to go to any of your classes and ask what this means. No one is going to ask why. In SCETL, that is the purpose."

“SCETL allowed me to fulfill the mission that I was looking for and that I wasn’t getting at a single track at ASU,” she said. “In the broader discourse of the nation, you see everyone trying to prove they are right and prove authority. At SCETL, instead, the faculty brings (the discussion) back to questions of ‘What is authority?’ ‘Where do individual liberties come from?’ ‘Who actually has a say in policymaking, and whose authority matters?’ The pandemic brought to life issues that SCETL can contribute to, and the school created several conversations about science and its role.”

Ariana Afshari (bottom row, second from right) in New Delhi with her cohort of ASU students and professors for the Leadership and Service in India course.

The school’s emphasis on civil discourse, political thought and civic education was complementary to Afshari's dedication to serving her community.

“SCETL equipped me to be open-minded to discourse and to face future challenges when talking about important science topics. I can contribute to those conversations in a more fruitful way than many people would without this perspective,” she said.

“Getting an education in STEM has been extremely valuable because I want to build a career in science; it’s what I love to learn. But, at times, it can be really transactional. There isn’t a lot of human connection and conversation,” she said. “SCETL has an effective, evidence-based approach to teaching humanities in classrooms with fewer than 30 students, and professors who are your mentors, who are dedicated to guiding you, and topics such as morality, ethics, etc. SCETL teaches you humanities. You can teach someone to be a good doctor, but you can’t teach a doctor to have empathy. The education offered at SCETL teaches you what other disciplines can’t teach you: how to be human aligned with your values.”

SCETL allowed me to fulfill the mission that I was looking for and that I wasn’t getting at a single track at ASU.
– Ariana Afshari

In this process, Afshari was grateful for the strong relationships she developed with her mentors at the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

“I’ve had classes at STEM where the syllabi say, ‘Do not ask me for recommendation letters.’ It’s disheartening as a student because the integrity you show in class is great, but you don’t get to develop a relationship," she said. "On the other hand, at SCETL, every professor makes it clear to you that they are there to support you, to love you, to see you do your best, and I’ve had the honor of meeting so many wonderful professors at SCETL. I credit a lot of my success to them.”

Her scientific skills were in fact an addition to SCETL’s learning environment.

“Ariana’s ability to think deeply about both the scientific process and the elements of politics, religious faith and institutions, and social forces revealed to all of us her exceptional talent and rare combination of intellectual and aesthetic gifts,” said Assistant Professor Karen Taliaferro. “She is thoughtful, creative, responsible, articulate and curious, able to read widely and deeply and write beautifully.” 

Painting encapsulates cross-sectionality between leading disciplines 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Afshari threw herself into a new challenge. She painted a 60-by-40-inch mural for the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership inspired by Raphael’s “The School of Athens.” Ariana's painting displays icons of several disciplines, including Plato, Aristotle, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Cesar Chavez, Frederick Douglas and Frida Kahlo.

The painting is on display at the school's library common room, on the sixth floor of Coor Hall on ASU's Tempe campus. The room is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2022 graduates.

Bronwyn Elizabeth can't wait to see what the future has in store for her. This summer, she moves to London to study classical drama at the world-renowned London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), just a stone's throw away from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. There, she will intertwine two passions: Shakespeare and academic studies. After accumulating successful acting roles, an internship in New York, scholarships and a bachelor’s degree in civic and economic thought and leadership from Arizona State University, the spring 2022 graduate is taking her dreams and skills to the next level.  Bronwyn Elizabeth earned a bachelor’s degree in civic and economic thought and leadership from Arizona State University this spring. Download Full Image

Bronwyn combines outstanding talent with an insatiable thirst for learning. Associate Professor Kent Wright, who has taught her over the years, said of Bronwyn, “I suspected from the first time I met Bronwyn — sitting in the front row of a CEL 100 class — that she was going to be the kind of student you learn a whole lot more from than you teach. Boy, was that ever right.”

During her tenure at ASU, the graduate of the Barrett, The Honors College at ASU received several accolades, including the Moeur Award, the President’s Scholarship and the Founders Scholarship.

The actress sat down with us to talk about where acting and her classical education from the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL) will take her. 

Question: What drew your attention to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art graduate program?

Answer: I was a member of the core Southwest Shakespeare Company for a few years, and the company receives a grant through the city of Mesa, which allows it to hold great lectures. In my first year of college, I attended one of those lectures with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art’s director, Rodney Cottier. Then I attended his lecture again the next year, and again this year. I kept falling in love with the ways that classical acting can be brought to life from an educational standpoint. Simultaneously, I really do love college. So that’s what drew me to the LAMDA program: the opportunity to combine theater and the academic environment.

The only way to do something right is to do it in a way that is fulfilling to you.
— Bronwyn Elizabeth, spring 2022 graduate of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership

Q: What does the program look like?

A: LAMDA has an incredibly rigorous academic program, but they don’t expect students to write a thesis in a traditional sense. It’s an intense year of studies. We will dive into movement work, Shakespeare’s first folio, his romances, the English kings, the Spanish golden age, Jacobean literature, as well as learn incredible technique programs, such as stage combat, flamenco dancing, accent work, vocal techniques, etc. It’s an academic approach to acting, and I can’t wait to start!

Bronwyn Elizabeth as Miranda in Shakespeare's "The Tempest" for the Southwest Shakespeare Company.

Q: Is there a particular area that you're interested in studying?

A: I love Shakespeare. I’ve worked with the Southwest Shakespeare Company over the last two years and I was their Ophelia in “Hamlet” and Miranda in “The Tempest.” It was incredible to embody these women who were at the foundation of archetypes of women in history. I am confident that my grandmother has read the words that I’ve said in “Hamlet,” and it feels great to be connected to history and lose myself in it. I am fascinated by Shakespeare’s women and other tragic women, and I am lucky to be able to learn a lot more about them in London.

Q: How did you hear about SCETL?

A: I learned about SCETL through my older brother, Cormac. He earned a double major in political science and civic and economic thought and leadership. When I was applying to college, he advised me to apply to SCETL. We are both drawn to discussions and are very similar. He had such a good time at SCETL and he was confident that I would, too. And so I did. The very first class I took was Shakespeare’s Leadership Lessons: Performance and Politics in the Pines, even before my freshman year started. During that course, I read “The Tempest” and fell in love with SCETL. Since then, I haven’t had a single class at SCETL with over 50 students, and it was always the right choice.

Q: Do the smaller class sizes resonate with you?

A: Absolutely. The discussion-based learning environment is fantastic. But more importantly, it was the general feeling that I was a part of the trajectory of the class, rather than the type of environment where you just take notes. I took Professor Kent Wright’s CEL 100 course in my freshman year, then I took every single course he’s taught since then, every semester. He genuinely wants you to learn, instead of wanting to “bestow education” upon you.

I felt special as a student at SCETL because the passion I have for learning was met with the passion the professors have for teaching.
— Bronwyn Elizabeth

Q: How did the intersection between acting and philosophy develop throughout your college years?

A: Right off the bat, I was lucky to meet two professors who love learning: professors Carol McNamara and Kent Wright. They supported my passion for liberal education and acting, and they were instrumental in helping me get an internship with the Patrick Page Acting Studio in New York during the pandemic. They really believed in me and wanted to keep learning with me. And I am grateful for Frank Pina, my academic adviser. He helped make it work for me, was always straightforward and opened doors. When it came time to do my dissertation, Professor Wright sat down with me and said, “I would never stop you from doing a PowerPoint presentation, Bronwyn, but wouldn’t it be fun to do something fresh and new?” My general impression of SCETL is encapsulated in this open-ended question: “Wouldn’t it be fun … ?” They engaged with me on an artistic level through academia. So I just decided I wanted to keep doing this. I love how, during performances of Chekhov, Shakespeare and others, you have to be fully engaged in it, and with my SCETL education, I am able to have a full understanding of the historical context. That’s exactly what SCETL professors push students to do, so it became natural to externalize that onto performances.

Bronwyn Elizabeth as Ophelia in "Hamlet" for the Southwest Shakespeare Company. Photo courtesy of Devon C. Adams

Q: How do you benefit as a dramatic artist from your education at SCETL?

A: I have a great story about this. I recently spoke at a seminar about Miranda, a character I got introduced to during the Shakespeare in the Pines course, the first ASU class I’ve ever taken. I had a piece of introspection I gained at that course, which I lifted from back then. I introduced it during the seminar and my director turned to the audience and said, “Wow. This is what you pay for when you pay for an actor.” SCETL has had a direct contribution to my career as an actor. 

My general impression of SCETL is encapsulated in this open-ended question: "Wouldn’t it be fun … ?" They engaged with me on an artistic level through academia. So I just decided I wanted to keep doing this.
— Bronwyn Elizabeth

Q: Are you a different actor today from the one you would have been had you not studied classical liberal education?

A: Absolutely. The choice to pursue classical education as an actress versus a professional training as an actor is purposeful. There’s in-depth academic discussion. I would not have been academically prepared for the LAMDA program had I not done literature analysis throughout the ages and gained the ability to politically contextualize stories, for example. This knowledge is at the foundation of drama, and it is at the foundation of SCETL. It’s organic.

Q: Was that your original plan?

A: No. I came to ASU thinking that I would become a lawyer, but I missed acting, so I started auditioning for these roles. And at one point, I was acting and so in love with all of these characters, and Professor Carol McNamara said to me, “Bronwyn, no one will think less of you if you don’t go to law school. Do what you love!” And it feels so right.

Q: What makes SCETL special?

A: The professors and the relationships you build with them. It feels so communicative and equal. When I talk to professors Wright and McNamara, I learn so much from them, but I feel that they are truly interested in what I have to say. I felt special as a student at SCETL because the passion I have for learning was met with the passion they have for teaching.

Bronwyn Elizabeth (center) as Theodosia in a production of "The Snow," written by Finnegan Kruckemeyer, at the Lyceum Theatre at ASU.

Q: What would you say to an incoming SCETL student? 

A: The only way to do something right is to do it in a way that is fulfilling to you. If I had thought at age 18 that I would be pursuing a career in acting today, I would have been very wary. It’s not a stable career, and I had to make peace with it. But know that you are going to work hard wherever you go in life, so make sure you want to go there. SCETL is very malleable with the close relationships you can build with your professors and the wide variety of classes you can take. You can tailor your career based on the conversations you have at SCETL in an infinite number of ways, so seek out discussions that you want to have in this learning environment. Find the professors who are leading those discussions. Take classes with the professors who teach in a way that you like to learn, and realize that the school is so accommodating that you can tailor the rest of your educational journey in that direction.

Q: What is your career goal?

A: Looking at the roles I’ve played and where I am headed, I can say that I’ve had a dream come true almost daily over the last couple of years. I wake up every day and I can’t believe all that’s happening in my life, and can’t wait to see what happens next.