Patrick Nolan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of South Carolina. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from Temple University, where he was a National Defense and Education Act Title IV Fellow,* in 1978. He has taught at the university level for more than 40 years and has published a number of papers on macro-sociology, social theory, and societal evolution, singly, and in collaboration with his graduate students, and the late Gerhard Lenski. With Professor Lenski, he is a coauthor of the last six editions of Human Societies, a text used at over 100 major universities in the United States and Canada.
His latest journal publication, “Dead Men Do Tell Tales: the Apotheosis of Celebrities in 20th Century America,” used a century of New York Times obituaries to document the shift of attention in popular culture away from scientists, inventors, and business leaders and toward actors, entertainers, and athletes. While the Greeks turned to their gods for guidance, we increasingly look to “celebrities.”
Since his seventh-grade teacher inspired him, he has continued to be a student of The Constitution and is a staunch defender of its Bill of Rights. He is also an active competitive pistol shooter and is an NRA and Sled certified firearms and Concealable Weapons Permit (CWP) instructor.
He is married to Lou Nolan and remains active in National and local politics.
*This act, inspired by the launch of Sputnik and the fear that the U.S. was falling behind the Soviet Union in technology and science, funded the graduate education of candidates who would commit to a career in university teaching.
On Friday, Patrick Nolan will provide the Rotary Club of Five Points a behind the scenes look at what happened at the convention.
This meeting will be at the Nelson Mullins Law Firm at 1320 Main Street!