Free and public lecture offers CLE credit

William B. Allen, dean emeritus of James Madison College at Michigan State University, will deliver the 88th Annual Cleveland-Marshall Enrichment Fund Visiting Scholar Lecture at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law on Wednesday Sept. 15. In his lecture, Dr. Allen will explore the implications of Harriet Beecher Stowe's teaching in our time.

On meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln was reputed to have said, "So this is the little lady who started this big war." This lecture will focus on Stowe's moral account of freedom. Dr. Allen will focus on Uncle Tom's Cabin, with additional references to Stowe's other writings. The goal is to understand how Stowe formulated her ideas and why she had an impact on American society.

Stowe is largely regarded as a melodramatic author, retelling the prejudices of her era and even harming, through negative stereotypes, the way American blacks came to be regarded. She has never been included among the writers of the 19th century "American Renaissance," in which the names of Hawthorne, Melville and Emerson figure so largely. Dr. Allen will assert that she attained far-reaching influence despite the failure of academia to include her among the influential writers.

This lecture will be held at 5 p.m. in the Moot Court Room at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at 1801 Euclid Ave. One hour of free CLE credit will be available for lawyers.

About Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, founded in 1897 as the Cleveland Law School, was the first law school in Ohio to admit women and one of the first to admit minorities. In 1946, the Cleveland Law School merged with the John Marshall School of Law, founded in 1916, to become the Cleveland-Marshall Law School. In 1969, the Law School joined Cleveland's new public university as its sixth college and was renamed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law of Cleveland State University. Early graduates of the College of Law laid the foundation for the legal profession in Northeast Ohio. Now in its 113th year, Cleveland-Marshall prepares promising students to be America's leaders in the 21st century in law, business, non-profit agencies and government.

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