CAS/MillerComm Lecture: "On the Trail of the Heathen School: Local History, American History, World History" by John Demos

• Event Date: Thursday, April 9, 2015
• Time: 7:30 pm–9:00 pm (CDT)
• Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Cost: Free Admission

• Talk

Early in the 1800s, a group of eminent Protestant ministers founded a special school in the little town of Cornwall, Connecticut for “heathen youth” drawn from all corners of the earth. Their express goal was to “save” the entire world in the shortest time imaginable by converting these boys, educating and civilizing them, then sending them back to found similar projects in their respective homelands. After a seemingly brilliant beginning, the project ran afoul of racism when two Cherokee students courted (and eventually married) local women. The result was scandal, widespread controversy, threats of violence, and permanent closure of the school.

The CAS/MillerComm public events series brings to campus people who offer unique cross-disciplinary contributions to the intellectual and cultural life of the university.

This Center for Advanced Study event is hosted by the Department of History in conjunction with the American Indian Studies Program, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, Center for Global Studies, College of Education, College of Law, Department of Anthropology, Department of English, Department of Psychology, Department of Religion, Department of Sociology, and the Spurlock Museum.