Lee Honeycutt, associate professor of English at Iowa State University, will present “The Moral Equivalent of War: Energy Rhetoric During the Carter Years,” a lecture about former President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 National Energy Plan, from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in Student Union Annex Room 102-C.

The lecture, sponsored by the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, is free and open to the public.

Honeycutt, who serves on the board of directors of the Iowa Renewable Energy Association, contends that Carter’s policy was an initiative ahead of its time.

“The policy failed largely because of opposition from entrenched corporate power, but the plan’s fate can also be traced to the administration’s failure to recognize the increasing rhetorical role of the American presidency,” he says. “From his early fireside chat on energy to the ‘moral malaise’ speech late in his term, Carter seemed unable to reconcile traditional policy tasks with the rising importance of the bully pulpit in shaping public opinion.”

For more information about the lecture, contact the Rhetoric and Writing Department at 501.569.3160.