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Demagogues and Democracy – It Can’t Happen Here?

John Aubrey Douglass, Senior Research Fellow and Research Professor - Public Policy and Higher Education, Center for Studies in Higher Education | September 16, 2019

“Societies with strong democratic traditions and civil discourse may appear to be partially immune to the worst scenarios of nationalism gone haywire,” writes John Douglass, a senior research fellow at the Center for Studies in Higher Education. “But reflecting on the history of the United States … perhaps democracy itself is more fragile than many of us would like to think. Others have thought so.”

What is hate speech?

George Lakoff, professor emeritus of linguistics | October 3, 2017

I have been asked what hate speech is. It is not exactly hard to detect. Hate speech defames, belittles, or dehumanizes a class of people on the basis of certain inherent properties — typically race, ethnicity, gender or religion. Hate speech attributes to that class of people certain highly negative qualities taken to be inherent … Continue reading »

Becoming an American citizen in the age of Trump

Namwali Serpell, associate professor of English | September 25, 2017

“I feel proud to be a U.S. citizen at a time like this. And I feel ashamed to be a U.S. citizen at a time like this. This ambivalence, I have come to realize, is the most American thing about me.”

The birth of a new white supremacist movement

Jeremy Adam Smith, Editor, Greater Good Magazine | March 4, 2016

We’re seeing the birth of a new white supremacist movement in the US. I want to talk about the responsibility of white liberals and progressives for letting it happen. This movement has been growing, and growing bolder, since President Obama was elected. It’s not covert or subtle; it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than … Continue reading »

Why the GOP should embrace renewable energy and energy efficiency

Dan Farber, professor of law | November 13, 2012

There’s a lot of discussion these days about how the Republican Party should reposition itself in light of last week’s election results.  Support for renewables and energy efficiency would make sense as part of a package of policy adjustments — it would strengthen the Party’s appeal to swing voters, women, and younger voters, with only … Continue reading »