March 27 (Wednesday, 7:15 p.m.) Paradise Found: Religiosity and Reform in Oberlin. Former Oberlin Heritage Center intern and volunteer, Matthew Hintz, recently completed his master's thesis in American History, Religious Studies and Intellectual Thought at Clemson University. He will explore how religion spearheaded Oberlin's progressive push toward human rights and social reforms such as temperance, abolition and civil rights. Religious fervor ran deep in the founding of western communities like Oberlin and Galesburg, Illinois - much more than was seen in the established East Coast cities of Boston and New York. Righteousness fused with intense spiritual revival to a greater degree on the frontier where traditions were weak, cooperation a necessity, and where egalitarian democracy reigned. Location: Kendal at Oberlin's Heiser Auditorium.