Live from the Roasterie: **: Humanities Lecture Series: Rick Perlstein: New York Times bestselling author and historian of conservatism: "The Invisible Bridge: From Nixon to Reagan to Palin and Beyond...
Founded in 1947, the Humanities Lecture Series series has consistently been a hallmark for quality, providing a forum for interdisciplinary dialogue between renowned speakers, the university and the surrounding communities. These events are free and open to the public--no tickets are required....
Wednesday, September 16, 2015: 7:30 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union
Thursday, September 17, 2015: 10:00 a.m., Hall Center Conference Hall: Additional Event: A Conversation with Rick Perlstein
In the post-Vietnam and post-Watergate 1970s, Americans began thinking critically about history and politics. They started to perceive their nation in a new way: as one more nation among nations, no more providential than any other. But along came Ronald Reagan, who never got the message and gave Americans permission not to think like that anymore. In this talk, bestselling author Rick Perlstein explores this fascinating time period and the repercussions that still reverberate today in how America’s politicians make decisions about global warming, the financial crisis, and the war in Iraq. He reveals where American politics went wrong, and the template history has set for how our politicians behave today. Against a backdrop of melodramas from the Arab oil embargo to Patty Hearst to the near-bankruptcy of America’s greatest city, Perlstein asks the question: what does it mean to believe in America? To wave a flag--or to reject the glibness of the flag wavers?
