Lecture on the Election of Obama
April 23, 2009. The U.S. Consulate General and the Atlantic Academy Rhineland-Palatinate organized a lecture on "Individualism, Work and Assimilation: From the Puritans to Barack Obama" by Stephen Kalberg, Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston University, at Mainz University’s American Studies Department. Kalberg argued that the legacy of the Puritan work ethic with its emphasis on individual achievement had lessened the significance of race and ethnicity and, consequently, also tensions between white and black Americans, an important factor for the electability of Obama. After the lecture, students and the hosting professor, Dr. Scheiding, used the opportunity for an additional discussion session with Prof. Kalberg, delving deeper into the reasons and significance of the election of Barack Obama for president.