Town and Gown Book Launches Education Book Series

Newswise — The first title in the Thomas D. Clark Studies in Education, Public Policy and Social Change book series, a collaborative effort between the University Press of Kentucky and the University of Kentucky College of Education, is "Taking the Town: Collegiate and Community Culture in the Bluegrass, 1880-1917." The book, detailing town and gown relations in Lexington, Ky., was written by Kolan Thomas Morelock and kicks off the series named after the former Kentucky historian laureate.

"Dr. Clark believed there was a lack of books on the history of education in Kentucky," said Steve Wrinn, director of University Press of Kentucky. "Our vision is to use dissertations from students of the College of Education because what the college is doing is vital to the Commonwealth. But we also want to encourage people to write books on topics that haven't yet been covered."

In "Taking the Town," Morelock, who received his Ph.D. in educational policy studies and evaluation at UK in 1999 and is the director of programs at the Hope Center in Lexington, gives readers an in-depth look at the social and cultural organizations that have nearly faded from history, illustrating the close ties between the town once known as the "Athens of the West" and its institutions of higher education.

"Dostoevsky has written that 'As a general rule, people, even the wicked, are much more naïve and simple-hearted than we suppose. And we ourselves are, too,'" Morelock said. "Perhaps so, but I hope this book demonstrates to the reader that no matter how naïve and simple-hearted the inhabitants--or their historians--may be, the social and cultural space of any community during any era is occupied by a complex puzzle of actors and ideas."

The series puts research on the Commonwealth in the spotlight, research which augments understanding of national or regional developments, or makes vivid relevance of those same developments to the pace and direction of change here at home. While remaining open to a variety of methodological approaches, the overall aim of the series is to encourage an imaginative engagement with the task and opportunities which define the present.

"We are pleased to collaborate with the University Press to initiate this book series in honor of Dr. Thomas Clark," said Rosetta Sandidge, interim dean of the UK College of Education. "He was a true friend and supporter of the College of Education. With this book series, we can generate and contribute to the literature a new understanding of the history of education in the Commonwealth."