Wednesday, December 5, 2018 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

American political thought is deeply shaped by a variety of abiding tensions. Civic republicanism requires citizens to seek out ways to associate productively and in peace with one another. By contrast, classical liberalism emphasizes our right to be separate and different. Now add nationalism, and the tensions in the public arena become especially heated and complicated. Yet republicanism, liberalism, and nationalism are what the founders bequeathed to us.

How might we work better within this complex framework to achieve common ground in an era of upheaval? What are the psychological, political, and philosophical dimensions that inform this perennial challenge? Gleaves Whitney, Director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, shared new insights stemming from these questions.