"Madmen, Intellectuals and Academic Scribblers" is the topic of the fall event of the Politics and Economics Lecture Series at Coastal Carolina University on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. in the James J. Johnson Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Edward J. Lopez, professor of economics, BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism and director of the Center for the Study of Free Enterprise at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C., specializes in the economics of ideas, entrepreneurship and politics. His most recent book, "Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers," offers a history of political-economic ideas and a new framework for understanding political change as a tension between ideas and interests in shaping institutions.

CCU's Politics and Economics Lecture Series, sponsored by the Charles Koch Foundation, hosts one event each semester. The series is directed by Kimberly Hale, assistant professor of politics. Robert F. Salvino Jr., professor of economics and director of the Grant Center for Real Estate and Economic Development, helped coordinate the speaker.

"The lecture series seeks to bring speakers to campus from a variety of intellectual backgrounds in the hopes of highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary study between economists and political scientists," said Hale.

The Johnson Auditorium is in Room 116 of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration, located at 119 Chanticleer Drive E. on the main Conway campus. Parking is available in lots A, B, C and S; see coastal.edu/safety/parking.

For more information on this event or the Politics and Economic Lecture Series, contact khale1@coastal.edu or 843-349-2653. Visit coastal.edu/politics.