David Farber, who joined Kansas University in August as the Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of History, will present his inaugural lecture next week, “The Uneasy State of American Conservatism: A Brief History.”

His talk is set for 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Summerfield Room at Adams Alumni Center.

Farber’s lecture will draw on his recent book, “The Rise and Fall of Modern American Conservatism.”

In the book, according to a KU announcement, Farber contends conservatism is “an odd-job word used by a hodgepodge of political actors to organize a movement capable of gaining political power in the United States. American conservatism, then, is a historically contingent, fragile project that has produced an uneasy alliance of disparate elements. Managing that alliance has never been a project for the faint of heart, as recent events have driven home.”

Prior to joining KU, Farber was professor of history at Temple University. In addition to collecting numerous honors, he is a prolific author whose other books include “The Age of Great Dreams: America in the 1960s,” “Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America’s First Encounter with Radical Islam” and “Sloan Rules: Alfred P. Sloan and the Triumph of General Motors.”