Ellen Pearson, UNC Asheville assistant professor of history, will continue UNC Asheville's annual philosophy lecture series with a talk on "Common Law and the Creation of American Identity in the Early Republic." The talk will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, at UNC Asheville's Kellogg Center, 11 Broyles Rd., Hendersonville. An open discussion will follow her talk. The event is open to the public. A donation of $5 will be suggested at the door.

A specialist on early American history and legal culture, Pearson has contributed book chapters on the legal rights of African-Americans in antebellum New Orleans and American legal scholars' interpretations of common law during the Revolution and early national period. She is currently revising her manuscript, "A Difference of Customs: Legal Scholars and the Construction of Identity in Early America." Pearson has given papers at conferences for the New England American Studies Association, the American Society for Legal History, and the Organization of American Historians. She holds a doctorate at The Johns Hopkins University.

The program is part of a year-long, nine-part series co-sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Philosophy Department and the Institute for Applied Philosophy. The “Great Quotes” series is designed to foster discussion of philosophically significant issues surrounding well-known quotations.

For driving directions, call the Kellogg Center at 828/890-2821. For more information about the series, call the Institute for Applied Philosophy at 828/891-5068.