Showing events on January 23, 2018
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Raised Right: Fatherhood in Modern American Conservatism
January 23, 2018 - 3:00pm to 4:30pm
How has the modern conservative movement thrived in spite of the lack of harmony among its constituent members? What, and who, holds together its large corporate interests, small-government libertarians, social and racial traditionalists, and evangelical Christians?
In his new book, Raised Right: Fatherhood in Modern American Conservatism (Stanford University Press, 2017), Jeffrey R. Dudas, pursues these questions through a cultural study of three iconic conservative figures: National Review editor William F. Buckley, Jr., President Ronald Reagan, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Examining their papers, writings, and rhetoric, Dudas identifies what he terms a "paternal rights discourse"—the arguments about fatherhood and rights that permeate their personal lives and political visions.
For each, paternal discipline was crucial to producing autonomous citizens worthy and capable of self-governance. This paternalist logic is the cohesive agent for an entire conservative movement, uniting its celebration of "founding fathers," past and present, constitutional and biological. Yet this discourse produces a paradox: When do authoritative fathers transfer their rights to these well-raised citizens? This duality propels conservative politics forward with unruly results. The mythology of these American fathers gives conservatives something, and someone, to believe in—and therein lies its timeless appeal.
Jeffrey R. Dudas is Associate Professor of Political Science and Affiliate Faculty of American Studies at the University of Connecticut. He specializes in the areas of American law, politics, and culture and focuses, in particular, on the many facets of the American politics of rights.
Cosponsored by the Department of Sociology, Department of Women's Studies, and History Department
Event Accessibility: Ramp and elevator access at the E. Washington Street entrance (by the loading dock). Power doors are at every accessible entrance. Gender neutral restroom on 1st floor. Questions? Contact irwg@umich.edu
Book sales provided by Common Language Bookstore -
Learning Community on Poverty and Inequality (LCPI) Event with Congressman Dan Kildee and John Gallagher
January 23, 2018 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm
This event will feature presentations by Dan Kildee, U.S. Representative for Michigan's Fifth Congressional District, and John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press Business Writer, regarding the Flint water crisis, emergency management law, developments in Flint other urban areas (e.g., Detroit) impacted by lack of employment deindustrialization. Q & A will follow after the presentations.
The even is open to the public.
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High Stakes Culture: What Does It Mean to Take a Knee?
January 23, 2018 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm
In the last few months a series of “culture wars” have been ignited across the country. Activists from all points of the political spectrum, even the President of the United States himself, are turning to beloved cultural objects to stake a claim for their differing beliefs in a politically fraught moment. Black athletes are taking a knee. Anti-immigration voters are rallying for a wall. Long-standing Confederate monuments are coming down.
What is at stake in the ways we understand culture and cultural conflict? High Stakes Culture is a new series, presented by the Institute for the Humanities and the Humanities Collaboratory, that brings humanities perspectives to bear on current debates. Join us as we ask: How and why does culture matter so much now?
Join the conversation as humanities scholars Angela Dillard (Afroamerican and African studies and Residential College), Matthew Countryman (history and American culture), Mark Clague (music), and Kristin Hass (American culture) tackle these questions and others you might have about high stakesculture now.
When did sports and patriotism become so deeply linked?
Has the flag always been viewed as sacred and purely a symbol of the armed forces?
Where did the national anthem come from, and have people always stood when it is played?
Who gets to decide what symbols deserve respect and what counts as a gesture of respect?