John Locke and His Critics: A Christian Case for Liberal Democracy

Join President Tim Gibson for this special President’s Lecture Series event as he welcomes King’s very own Dr. Joseph Loconte, Associate Professor of History and Senior Fellow in Christianity and Culture with a response from Dr. David Tubb. Loconte’s lecture titled, “John Locke and His Critics: A Christian Case for Liberal Democracy,” will take place on Wednesday, February 5 in King’s 5th Floor City Room from 12:15 PM to 1:15 PM. Doors open at 12:00 PM. REGISTER HERE.

As reference points for the event, attendees are welcome to read the following essays by Dr. Loconte:

• The Versailles Treaty Gets a Bum Rap, The Wall Street Journal
• Mussolini and the End of Liberal Democracy, National Review
• The War over Liberal Democracy, The National Interest

About Dr. Joseph Loconte

Joseph Loconte, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of History and Senior Fellow in Christianity and Culture at The King’s College in New York City, where he teaches courses on Western Civilization, U.S. Foreign Policy, and International Human Rights. He previously served as a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. In 2008, Mr. Loconte was named a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Loconte held the first chair in religion and civil society as the William E. Simon Fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Mr. Loconte has been a frequent contributor to print and broadcast media. For 10 years he was a regular commentator on religion and the public square for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” His other media appearances include the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. His commentary has appeared in the New York Times, the Times of London, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, the New Republic, the American Interest, the National Interest,National Review, and Books and Culture. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and the London-based Standpoint, and serves as a Senior Editor at Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy.

Mr. Loconte is the author of several books, including: the New York Times bestseller A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918 (HarperCollins 2015); God, Locke, and Liberty: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in the West (Lexington Press, 2014); The Searchers: A Quest for Faith in the Valley of Doubt (Thomas Nelson, 2012); and The End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitler’s Gathering Storm (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). He is currently at work on a documentary film based on his book A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War. The trailer for the film series can be found at hobbitwardrobe.com.

Mr. Loconte has a master’s degree from Wheaton College and earned his PhD in history at King’s College London, University of London. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., he divides his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.

About Dr. David Tubbs

Professor David Tubbs earned his PhD. in politics at Princeton University, concentrating in political philosophy, constitutional law, and Russian studies. He began teaching at King’s in August 2005.

In his scholarship, Professor Tubbs writes on topics in political philosophy and constitutional law and contemporary controversies in public policy. His book, Freedom’s Orphans, was published by Princeton University Press in 2007. His shorter essays and book reviews have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal,Los Angeles Times, Academic Questions, Public Discourse, Touchstone, First Things, National Review, The American Spectator, and The New Criterion. Professor Tubbs teaches a range of courses at King’s, including Constitutional Law; Statesmanship; Civil Rights; Public Policy; International Politics; and Enlightenment & Liberal Democracy. He also regularly serves as an advisor to students working on their senior theses.

In Spring 2010, Professor Tubbs received the “Faculty of the Year Award for Academic Excellence,” given by students at the college. He has lectured in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. He was previously Visiting Faculty Fellow at Irkutsk State University in Irkutsk, Russia, and the W.H. Brady Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. In spring 2014 Professor Tubbs was Visiting Associate Professor of Politics at Princeton University. In academic year 2017-18, he was the Ann & Herbert W. Vaughn Visiting Fellow in the James Madison Program at Princeton.

Contact

Contact the Events and Production department at events@tkc.edu or 212-659-7200 with questions.