Our Calendar of Events

Delivered by The School of Arts & Letters Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. John McWilliams, Associate Professor Emeritus, The Pennsylvania State University

Polarization. Few terms instinctively instill a dispirited reaction to the dynamics of contemporary national politics, which has produced a pervasive frustration with government and has severely eroded our confidence in public officials to act in our interests. It also has engendered an irrational, poisonous atmosphere of fear and loathing, accompanied by a desperate desire by some to revert to a time of consensus and unity. Such an elusive search for a by-gone era is not unprecedented; on the contrary, our past reveals a deeply rooted ideological divide. It is who we are.

Dr. McWilliams is the 2012-13 Scholar in Residence for the School of Arts & Letter. He is teaching in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice.