The WKU history department will host their annual Lowell Harrison Distinguished Lecture this Thursday, Feb. 15, with a presentation titled “There’s Nothing Religious about an Appendectomy: The Complex History of Religious Hospitals in the United States.”
The presenter is Ronit Stahl, an associate professor of history at the University of California at Berkeley and an affiliate of the Berkeley Center for Religion, the Center for Jewish Studies and the Center for Research on Social Change. The event will be at 5 p.m. in Gary Ransdell Hall auditorium and is open to the public.
Katherine Lennard, Frockt Family Chair and associate professor in the WKU history department, said the Lowell Harrison Distinguished Lecture honors former WKU professor Lowell Harrison.
Harrison “was an expert on the history of Kentucky who taught in the department from 1967-1988 and served as the WKU University historian from 1979-1988,” Lennard said.
Additionally, Lennard explained that members of the Harrison Lecture Committee are excited to host Stahl as she fits within the history and religious studies departments.
“One of the most exciting parts of being a scholar is getting to be in conversation with colleagues across the country who help us to think in new and interesting ways,” Lennard said. “Dr. Stahl doing innovative work that will speak to people with a diverse range of interests, including US history, religion, history of medicine, medical ethics, institutional policy, politics and more.”
News reporter Bailey Reed can be reached at [email protected].
