NEWPORT, R.I. - Elizabeth Samet, professor of English at the U.S. Military Academy, will discuss "Imagining Courage: The Role of Literature in Preparing for War" at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3 in the Young Building ballroom as part of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy's "Courage to Speak" lecture series.

Samet is the author of "Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature through Peace and War at West Point," a memoir about her experiences teaching literature to cadets for the last decade; and "Willing Obedience: Citizens, Soldiers and the Progress of Consent in America, 1776-1898," a study of the dynamics of command and obedience in American literature and culture.

"Soldier's Heart" won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest; it was also a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 2007. Samet's writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The American Scholar and elsewhere. She has just completed a manuscript on the literature of long wars. Samet received her bachelor's degree from Harvard and her doctorate in English literature from Yale University.

The "Courage to Speak" lecture series examines human-centered issues in today's complex world, highlighting women who are actively solving problems and educating the rest of us. "Courage to Speak" is made possible through major funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Seating for Samet's lecture is limited and reservations are suggested. For more information, or to reserve a seat, contact the Pell Center at Ext. 2927 or pellcenter@salve.edu.

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