Benjamin McArthur Endowed Lecture Series
The 2026 Benjamin McArthur Lecture
Southern Scholars is pleased to welcome Pepperdine University professor Edward Larson, PhD, as presenter for the fourth annual Benjamin McArthur Lecture Series. His presentation is titled “What a Difference a Year Makes: Washington, Franklin and the Epic Transition from 1775 to 1776.” This installment of the Benjamin McArthur Lecture Series will take place on April 8, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm in the Lynn Wood Hall Auditorium.
Edward Larson is a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in History with a Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a law degree from Harvard. Larson is the University Professor of History and holds the Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University. The author of fifteen books and over a hundred articles, he taught at the University of Georgia for twenty years and chaired its History Department. His books range from bestsellers on revolutionary America to his prizewinning history of the 1925 Scopes Trial, Summer for the Gods. His latest book is Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters.
Marking the republic's 250th anniversary, Larson's lecture looks at the historic events
of 1775 and 1776 as a decade-long colonial struggle for the birthrights of English
subjects under the king transformed into the birth pains of a globally significant
revolution for liberty and equality under law and republican rule. The sun never shined
on a cause of great worth, with George Washington and Benjamin Franklin standing in
the center of this epic transition. Their actions and those of the others in assembly
halls and on the battlefield mattered. Nothing about the American Revolution was inevitable.
The Benjamin McArthur Endowed Lecture Series is free to attend, and all are welcome.
For more information, email scholars@southern.edu.
About the Lecture Series
Benjamin McArthur was a beloved professor and an active scholar. He taught in the
History and Political Studies Department of Southern from 1979 until 2017, except
for a three-year period from 2009-2012 during which he served as the academic dean
of Southwestern Adventist University. He published three books and numerous articles
during his long academic career.
The Benjamin McArthur Endowed Lecture Series addresses topics that McArthur cared deeply about: the life of the mind, service to community, and spiritual commitment. Additionally, it offers opportunities for participating students, employees, and community members to have informal conversations with the guest speakers, including luncheons and receptions.
Support the Lecture Series
Your gift will honor Benjamin McArthur's legacy and support future lectures that examine the relevance of history to our contemporary context.