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In a free Zoom lecture at noon on February 10, 2025 (EST), join Dr. Mark Canada for a presentation on lessons we can learn from the incredible life of Frederick Douglass.
The United States has come a long way since Frederick Douglass escaped slavery, wrote his story, and became a leading abolitionist—but recent tragedies and rhetoric show there is still much work to be done. What can we learn from Douglass? In this lecture, we will explore the life and work of one of America’s greatest voices for freedom, equality, and education, not only for African-Americans, but also for others facing oppression in the nineteenth century. We will see some of the trials and triumphs of his life as a slave, sample some brilliant and moving passages from his slave narrative, explore his work as a newspaper editor and activist, and consider takeaways that we can use to make a better, more inclusive America in our own day.
New video
The story goes that a woman posed a question to Benjamin Franklin after he left the Constitutional Convention of 1787. “Well, Doctor," she asked, "what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin's response has become famous: “A republic, if you can keep it."
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Franklin's words are worth remembering at a time of year when many of us have made New Year's resolutions and are struggling to maintain the habits we started on January 1.
What do you want to do?
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Listen & Learn
Mark's Greatest Hits
Do you like American history? Philosophy? Literature? Business? An amazing narrator?
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I finished these lectures in two days. You won't be disappointed.
Tim
One of the best
Huge Poe fan and you could absolutely tell Mark has a passion for the subject matter. Plus he's a great narrator! Would highly recommend this for anyone interested in learning more about Poe in a short amount of time.
Erin
So good!
Well-written and thoughtful, the essays are scholarly but still accessible.
Anonymous
So good!
Mind Inclined podcast episodes:
Upcoming Lectures
"America's Writers: Works, Quirks, and Jerks"
March 27, 2025
7 p.m., Honeywell House, Wabash, Indiana
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Registrations are required for this free event. To RSVP, call 260-563-1102, extension. 1 to reach the Honey Center Box Office or visit Honeywellhouse.org to reserve your seat online.
In this lighthearted lecture, we will “read behind the lines” of some of America’s greatest writing to discover the sometimes amusing, often inspiring, and always fascinating stories that accompany American writers and their works. Meet Emily Dickinson, whose idiosyncratic, enigmatic poems would have to wait decades before finding an audience. Eavesdrop on the witty (and sometimes savage) conversations of Dorothy Parker, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Learn what inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write her powerful novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, how Truman Capote distilled years of research into the gripping “nonfiction novel” "In Cold Blood," and how the eccentric savant Thomas Wolfe magically churned out piles of prose in a single sitting (or standing). In the end, you will come away with a richer understanding of not only the writers, but also their works and the art of writing.
"Welcome to The Jungle: Upton Sinclair’s Investigative Fiction"
June 7, 2025
1 p.m.
Chicago, Illinois
Join Mark Canada and historian Chris Young for the first in-person Moving Experience: "Welcome to the Jungle: Upton Sinclair, Turn-of-the-Century Chicago, and Investigative Fiction."
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Novelist Upton Sinclair famously said of his best-known novel, The Jungle, an exposé of Chicago’s meat-packing industry, “I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” Sinclair sought to arouse a reaction—a heartfelt one, we might say—to the exploitation of immigrants like his protagonist Jurgis Rudkus and his family. His graphic descriptions of the meat-packing process, however, wound up upsetting the stomachs, figuratively or even literally, of readers.
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In this Moving Experience tour of Chicago, we will explore the locations relevant to Sinclair's investigation during the turn of the century.
Who is Dr. Mark Canada?
Mark Canada, Ph.D.
elevating minds for over 25 years
As an award-winning professor, he has taught everything from the Book of Genesis to Toni Morrison's Beloved. Now the chancellor of Indiana University Kokomo, he collaborates with faculty and staff to elevate students' lives through experiential learning. For more than a decade, he has been extending his influence beyond the classroom to elevate minds and lives through lectures, articles, and books, including the Audible Original Ben Franklin's Lessons in Life.
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