Just days before the 2016 presidential election, Harvard historian James Kloppenberg will compare the campaign to similar turbulent moments in American history in a speech and discussion at 杏吧视频.
Free and open to the public, the event is Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Tinkham Veale University Center Ballroom C.
鈥淲hile this race has been ugly and contentious, it鈥檚 certainly not the first of its kind,鈥 said Kloppenberg, the Charles Warren Professor of American History at Harvard University. 鈥淲hat we haven鈥檛 heard in American history is a major party nominee claim the entire election is rigged if he loses.鈥
James Kloppenberg, Charles Warren Professor of American History at Harvard University
credit: Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer Another key difference about modern politics is the prevalence of fringe viewpoints spurred by the monetization of extreme rhetoric, said Kloppenberg. 鈥淲e have an industry of insult鈥攑eople whose financial position depends on stoking fires,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just partisanship; in mass media, it鈥檚 easier than ever for hatred to enter the echo chamber.鈥 Kloppenberg鈥檚 speech鈥斺淲hat Ails Democracy?鈥濃攊s the 2016 Ubbelohde Lecture, presented by the 杏吧视频 Department of History, along with the CWRU History Associates, the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities and the Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program. 鈥淣o matter the outcome, there are grounds for worry,鈥 Kloppenberg said. 鈥淚f former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wins, she鈥檚 been targeted with vitriol for 30 years, and that鈥檚 unlikely to change. 鈥淥ur situation will probably require an entirely new generation of leaders. Democracy does better when its fueled by informed debate from all sides,鈥 he added. Kloppenberg鈥檚 most recent book, Democracy: The Struggle for Self-Rule in European and American Thought, was published this year by Oxford University Press.
James Kloppenberg, Charles Warren Professor of American History at Harvard Universitycredit: Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer Another key difference about modern politics is the prevalence of fringe viewpoints spurred by the monetization of extreme rhetoric, said Kloppenberg. 鈥淲e have an industry of insult鈥攑eople whose financial position depends on stoking fires,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just partisanship; in mass media, it鈥檚 easier than ever for hatred to enter the echo chamber.鈥 Kloppenberg鈥檚 speech鈥斺淲hat Ails Democracy?鈥濃攊s the 2016 Ubbelohde Lecture, presented by the 杏吧视频 Department of History, along with the CWRU History Associates, the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities and the Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program. 鈥淣o matter the outcome, there are grounds for worry,鈥 Kloppenberg said. 鈥淚f former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wins, she鈥檚 been targeted with vitriol for 30 years, and that鈥檚 unlikely to change. 鈥淥ur situation will probably require an entirely new generation of leaders. Democracy does better when its fueled by informed debate from all sides,鈥 he added. Kloppenberg鈥檚 most recent book, Democracy: The Struggle for Self-Rule in European and American Thought, was published this year by Oxford University Press.
