Podcasts about american social thought

The separation of church and state is a foundational principle of American democracy, but that doesn't mean that religion hasn't played an important role in American politics. Throughout American history, varied political movements have claimed religious motivations and scriptural justifications, sometimes in contradictory ways (e.g. both to support and oppose systems of racial hierarchy). Today, evangelical Christian institutions are powerful political organizers, often promoting a nationalist and White-exclusive vision of American identity. These ideas have deep historical roots and continue to undermine principles of inclusive democracy today. Anthea Butler is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania. A historian of African American and American religion, Butler's research and writing spans African American religion and history, race, politics, Evangelicalism, gender and sexuality, media, and popular culture. Butler is the winner of the 2022 Martin Marty Award from the American Academy of Religion. She was a contributor to the book, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, and her most recent book is White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. https://uncpress.org/book/9781469661179/white-evangelical-racism/ https://www.msnbc.com/author/anthea-butler-ncpn840911

Dr. Anthea Butler is Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought, and chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. A historian of African American and American religion, her research and writing spans African American religion and history, Nationalism, race, politics, Evangelicalism, gender and sexuality, media, and popular culture. She is an opinion writer for MSNBC, and her articles have been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and The Guardian.Dr. Butler is also the author of “White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.”So with that portfolio, you might find be suprised to learn that she has some thoughts on our current religio-political moment.Thanks for listening! Now follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Threads. And please consider becoming a Patreon supporter at www.patreon.com/podcastunreasonable. It's a small price to pay to help keep America from becoming a theocracy, dontchya think?

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by historian and the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania, Barbara D. Savage. We talk about her new book, “Merze Tate: The Global Odyssey of a Black Woman Scholar.” Follow Barbara: @bdsavage1

How does election day work?This episode was hosted by Justin Webb (Today Programme host and Americast host) alongside Anthony Zurcher (BBC North America correspondent) and Mary Frances Berry (Professor of American Social Thought, History and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania). Producers: Dan Gordon and Alix Pickles Production coordinator: Sabine Schereck Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham

What happens on the road and who actually pays for it all?This episode was hosted by Justin Webb (Today Programme host and Americast host) alongside Anthony Zurcher (BBC North America correspondent) and Mary Frances Berry (Professor of American Social Thought, History and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania). Producers: Dan Gordon and Alix Pickles Production coordinator: Sabine Schereck Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham

Scholar Merze Tate, born in Michigan in 1905, overcame the odds in what she called a “sex and race discriminating world,” to earn graduate degrees from Oxford University and Harvard University on her way to becoming the first Black woman to teach in the History Department at Howard University. During her long career, Tate published 5 books, 34 journal articles and 45 review essays in the fields of diplomatic history and international relations. Her legacy extends beyond her publications, as the fellowships she endowed continue to support students at her alma maters. Joining me in this episode is historian Dr. Barbara Savage, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor Emerita of American Social Thought and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Merze Tate: The Global Odyssey of a Black Woman Scholar. Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is "Trio for Piano Violin and Viola," by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. The episode image is “Portrait of Merze Tate;” photograph taken by Judith Sedwick in 1982 and housed in the Black Women Oral History Project Collection at the  Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America; there are no known copyright restrictions. Additional sources: “Merze Tate Collection,” Western Michigan University Archives. “Who was Dr. Merze Tate?” Western Michigan University. “Merze Tate: Her Legacy Continues,” Merze Tate Explorers. “WMU's Merze Tate broke color barriers around the world [video],” WOOD TV8, February 18, 2021. “Merze Tate,” by Maurice C. Woodard. PS: Political Science & Politics 38, no. 1 (2005): 101–2.  “Vernie Merze Tate (1905-1996),” by Robert Fikes, BlackPast, December 22, 2018. “Merze Tate,” St. Anne's College, University of Oxford. “Diplomatic Historian Merze Tate Dies At 91,” Washington Post, July 8, 1996. “Merze Tate College,” Western Michigan University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Mapping the Doctrine of Discovery podcast, hosts Phil Arnold and Sandy Bigtree interview Anthea Butler, The Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Chair of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss the role of evangelical Christians in manipulating voting structures and policies, as well as the connection between evangelicalism and racism. Butler explains that evangelicals often use morality as a shield to impose their own beliefs on others rather than living by those beliefs themselves. She also discusses the evangelical desire to bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth and their opposition to government intervention. The conversation touches on the history of evangelicalism, the influence of whiteness, and the need to challenge dominant narratives through civic engagement and education.Support the showView the transcript and show notes at podcast.doctrineofdiscovery.org. Learn more about the Doctrine of Discovery on our site DoctrineofDiscovery.org.

What happens when you talk about Christian nationalism with the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, a historian who wrote a book on white evangelical racism, and the lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism? Find out as we bring you portions of a panel conversation recorded in September during the Texas Tribune Festival. The Rev. Dr. Bart Barber, Dr. Anthea Butler, and Amanda Tyler talk about Christian nationalism's connection to the January 6 attack, Baptist history, American history, Christian citizenship, and much more. You might hear surprising areas of agreement in this honest, in-depth, and animated conversation. Segment 1 (starting at 02:35): Introduction to today's show We are playing excerpts from a conversation from the Texas Tribune Festival, recorded on September 22, 2023.  The participants are: Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC, lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism, and co-host of Respecting Religion Rev. Dr. Bart Barber, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas Dr. Anthea Butler, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and chair of the Religious Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America Moderator Robert Downen, Texas Tribune reporter covering democracy and threats to it; previously, he covered religion at the Houston Chronicle Amanda shared a video clip of the conversation on her X account, which you can view here. The Bloudy Tenet of Persecution was written by Roger Williams in 1644.   Segment 2 (starting at 11:59): The overlaps of Christian nationalism Read more about the push in Texas to install public school “chaplains” at this link: BJConline.org/publicschoolchaplains     Segment 3 (starting at 19:24): The draw of Christian nationalism and Christian involvement in politics Dr. Butler's book is White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. You can read the Southern Baptist Convention's statement of faith at this link. Article XVII is about religious liberty.   Segment 4 (starting at 31:23): Christian nationalism in churches and in politics Read the Christians Against Christian Nationalism statement and learn more about the campaign at this link.   Segment 5 (starting at 37:21): Christian nationalism and the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Read the report on Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021, Insurrection at this link. It was produced by BJC and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and features contributions from Amanda Tyler and Dr. Anthea Butler, along with many others. Read the letter submitted to the January 6 Select Committee from Christian leaders at this link. Watch Rep. Jared Huffman's floor speech about Christian nationalism here. Watch Amanda Tyler's testimony to Congress on Christian nationalism here. She discusses it in episode 9 of season 4 of Respecting Religion.   Segment 6 (starting at 43:51): Differences in Christian nationalism and faith-based advocacy Read the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” at this link. Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC's generous donors. You can support these conversations with a gift to BJC. 

One of the biggest threats facing Americans today…is extremism. What can be done to combat the rising danger of extremist events in the United States? On this episode of Our Body Politic, host Farai Chideya, speaks with Kristofer Goldsmith, founder and CEO of Taskforce Butler, about engaging veterans in the fight against extremism. Then Farai gets a debrief from journalist and Our Body Politic team member Joanne Levine, who attended the Mom's For Liberty Annual Summit. They're an organization that has been designated to have “racist” and “extremist ties. We round the show out with our Sippin' the Political Tea roundtable that includes Robert P. Jones, the president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute and Anthea Butler, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, about the connections between religion, race, politics and violence.

Join us as we launch Professor Wendy Cadge‘s new book Spiritual Care: The Everyday Work of Chaplains, an exploration of the past, present, and future of chaplain work and published by Oxford University Press. Professor Cadge is Founder and Director of the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, as well as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Members of the Lab community can use the code AAFLYG6 for a 30% discount on orders. From the publisher: Chaplains are America's hidden religious leaders. Required in the military, federal prisons, and Veterans Administration Medical Centers, chaplains also work in two-thirds of hospitals, most hospices, many institutions of higher education, and a growing range of other settings. The chaplains of the U.S. House and Senate regularly engage with national leaders through public prayer and private conversation.Chaplains have been present at national protests, including the racial justice protests that took place across the country in 2020. A national survey conducted in the United States in 2019 found that 21% of the Americans public had contact with a chaplain in the prior two years. Contact with chaplains likely increased with the COVID-19 pandemic, which thrust chaplains into the spotlight, as they cared for patients, family members, and exhausted and traumatized medical staff fighting the pandemic in real time.Wendy Cadge steps back to ask who chaplains are, what they do across the United States, how that work is connected to the settings where they do it, and how they have responded to and helped to shape contemporary shifts in the American religious landscape. She focuses on Boston as a case study to show how chaplains have been, and remain, an important part of institutional religious ecologies, both locally and nationally. She has combed through the archives of major Boston institutions including the city government, police and fire department, hospitals, universities, rest and rehabilitation centers, the Catholic church, and several Protestant denominations, as well as the Boston Globe, to chart the work of chaplains historically.Cadge also interviewed over one hundred chaplains who work in greater Boston and shadowed them whenever possible, going on board container ships, walking through homeless shelters, and attending religious services at local prisons. The result is a rich study of a little-noticed but essential group of religious leaders. Panelists Wendy Cadge, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Brandeis University Mychal Springer, Manager of Clinical Pastoral Education, New York-Presbyterian Hospital Barbara Savage, Geraldine R. Segal Professor Emerita of American Social Thought, University of Pennsylvania John Schmalzbauer, Blanche Gorman Strong Chair in Protestant Studies, Missouri State University Support for this webinar and research on chaplain work Barbara Mandel Professorship in the Humanistic Social Sciences, Brandeis University

This week Josh and Will address the issue of morality and the politicization of it by many on the right. To help them unpack this very complex topic they speak with Dr. Anthea Butler, who is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought, and chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Their conversation traces the racist exploitation of the Bible during the slavery era, and resulted in the creation of the Negro Bible. They then turn towards modern day politics and talk about how the Republican Party has drifted away from the days of Lincoln and evolved into their civil war opponents, the Dixiecrats. During this very energetic interview, you will learn how the Bible has been perverted in order to gain moral superiority over those whom they consider "the other", and some insight as to what this portends for 2024. Guest Bio:Anthea Butler is Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought, and chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. A historian of African American and American religion, Professor Butler's research and writing spans African American religion and history, race, politics, Evangelicalism, gender and sexuality, media, and popular culture. You can find more of her writing and public engagement at Antheabutler.comProfessor Butler courses include Religion from Civil Rights to Black lives Matter, Religion in the African Diaspora, God and Money, Religion and American Politics, and Ritual and Practice in Religious Studies. She is a member of the graduate group in the History department at Penn. Butler's recent book is White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.  Her first book is Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World, Both are published by Ferris and Ferris/UNC Press. Her next book project in progress is Reading Race: How Publishing created a lifeline for Black Baptists in Post Reconstruction America.Support the showTo learn more about the show, contact our hosts, or recommend future guests, click on the links below: Website: https://www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/ Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Political Host: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Twitter: @F8thfulPolitics Instagram: faithful_politics Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics

Anthea Butler, Geraldine Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Chair of Religious Studies, joins #democracyish to discuss the rise of Christian Nationalism and the threats this nation faces if they gain the reins of power. Wajahat and Danielle delve into her latest book, White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America, as our guide of the dystopian future of America that awaits us. Hosts: Danielle Moodie & Wajahat Ali Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Senior Producer: Quinton Hill Distributor: DCP Entertainment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since the 1970s white evangelicals have become increasingly powerful in American elections and increasingly influential in American policy making.   We explore the history, contemporary power, and likely future of white evangelicals in American politics with Anthea Butler, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Chair of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and author of White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America, and Randall Balmer, professor of religion at Dartmouth College and author of several books including Evangelicalism in America and Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right.

Since the 1970s white evangelicals have become increasingly powerful in American elections and increasingly influential in American policy making.   We explore the history, contemporary power, and likely future of white evangelicals in American politics with Anthea Butler, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Chair of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and author of White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America, and Randall Balmer, professor of religion at Dartmouth College and author of several books including Evangelicalism in America and Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right.

Annual Greeley Lecture for Peace and Social Justice The after-effects of the 1/6 Insurrection continue to reverberate across America. Since that fateful and disturbing day, pushbacks against the teaching of race in America, abortion rollbacks, and Covid denialism have swept across the country. What has been the role of evangelical Christianity in fueling these issues? Anthea Butler, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Chair of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, examined the historical antecedents of Evangelical beliefs and political action leading up to today's troubling times, and the prospects for the future of religion, peace, and political action in America, in her lecture. This event took place on February 10, 2022. Learn more: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/

Anthea Butler discusses the history of US Evangelicalism, looking particularly at the ways oppressive and racist structures have taken hold within and through it. Anthea Butler is Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought, chair of the department of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition, and Dr. Anthea Butler, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Chair of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania Introduced by legendary poet, Sonia Sanchez Nikole Hannah-Jones won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her work on The 1619 Project, a continuing initiative started byThe New York Times Magazine to reexamine United States history through the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans. The co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, Hannah-Jones has earned, among many other honors, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards, three National Magazine Awards, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. She was recently was named the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University. Interweaving 18 essays with 36 works of fiction and nonfiction by a group of writers of diverse backgrounds, skills, and experiences, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story is a greatly expanded exploration of the continuing legacy of slavery in our cultural, political, and legal institutions. (recorded 11/17/2021)

A political fight is heating up in the US, as Republican-led states ban Critical Race Theory in American schools. More than 20 states have passed or introduced legislation restricting what educators can teach about racism and other ‘divisive concepts'. Teachers' unions are preparing for legal battles. Parents are flooding school board meetings, charging teachers with discrimination. Why has a decades-old academic framework that analyses the ongoing impact of systemic racism on the country's laws and institutions become a political flashpoint in America's culture war? And what are the long-term impacts on free speech and debates over racism in America's classrooms? Guests: Mary Frances Berry- Professor of American Social Thought and History at the University of Pennsylvania & former Chair of the US Commission on Civil Rights Kevin West- Oklahoma State Representative for District 54 & author of Oklahoma's House Bill 1775 Lynn Pasquerella- President of the Association of American Colleges and Universities Watch other episodes of Inside America ➡ Weekly in-depth interviews with American opinion and policy-makers exploring the issues shaping US politics.

The enslavement of Black people was supported by a legal system that including everything from laws preventing legal marriage to those restricting movement and access to education. When slavery was abolished, this system did not go away. Instead, it evolved to include Jim Crow laws and 20th centuries policies including redlining and urban renewal. In this episode, we speak to two historians and an anthropologist about the violence embedded in our shared history and legacies that persist.Featuring:Heather Williams, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Professor of Africana StudiesBrent Cebul, Assistant Professor of HistoryDeborah Thomas, R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Experimental Ethnography***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke Sietinsons Interviews by Lauren Rebecca Thacker, Jane Carroll, and Blake ColeTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and  Lobo Loco Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.    

The enslavement of Black people was supported by a legal system that including everything from laws preventing legal marriage to those restricting movement and access to education. When slavery was abolished, this system did not go away. Instead, it evolved to include Jim Crow laws and 20th centuries policies including redlining and urban renewal. In this episode, we speak to two historians and an anthropologist about the violence embedded in our shared history and legacies that persist.Featuring:Heather Williams, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Professor of Africana StudiesBrent Cebul, Assistant Professor of HistoryDeborah Thomas, R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Experimental Ethnography***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke Sietinsons Interviews by Lauren Rebecca Thacker, Jane Carroll, and Blake ColeTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and  Lobo Loco Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.    

Last fall we launched our podcast, “In These Times” with an examination of COVID-19 and its far-reaching impacts. We spoke with students and faculty who shared their personal experiences with the epidemic, along with perspectives drawn from history, science, politics and beyond. A recurring theme of our first season was the crisis within the COVID crisis: how racial inequality was playing out in the context of the pandemic, revealing itself in unequal health outcomes and boiling over with the death of George Floyd. This season, we wanted to dive more deeply into this theme, to focus on Black Lives and the Call for Justice. We'll explore the nation's complex history with race and consider some challenging questions: Who controls the narrative about the U.S.? How far have we moved beyond our history of enslavement and Jim Crow? Are we at a moment of reckoning? We wanted to begin season 2 of In These Times with a focus on that explosive moment of last summer, when millions of Americans of all races and ethnicities, in cities across the nation, joined in the Black Lives Matter movement. Shortly before we began our interviews, the Capitol was attacked by supporters of the former president, who sought to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. In this episode, we'll hear some reactions to this moment from faculty speakers who will be featured later in our season. We'll also hear from two students who reflect on the events of the past year, and share a glimpse of their experiences, as young Black adults finding their path in a nation that has yet to come to terms with its legacy of racism and white supremacy. Featuring:Heather Williams, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and a professor of Africana StudiesCamille Charles, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social SciencesHerman Beavers, Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt President's Distinguished Professor of English and Africana StudiesJelani Williams, C'20Breanna Moore, C'15, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterviews by Loraine Terrell, Jane Carroll, and Lauren Rebecca Thacker Theme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.   

Last fall we launched our podcast, “In These Times” with an examination of COVID-19 and its far-reaching impacts. We spoke with students and faculty who shared their personal experiences with the epidemic, along with perspectives drawn from history, science, politics and beyond. A recurring theme of our first season was the crisis within the COVID crisis: how racial inequality was playing out in the context of the pandemic, revealing itself in unequal health outcomes and boiling over with the death of George Floyd. This season, we wanted to dive more deeply into this theme, to focus on Black Lives and the Call for Justice. We’ll explore the nation’s complex history with race and consider some challenging questions: Who controls the narrative about the U.S.? How far have we moved beyond our history of enslavement and Jim Crow? Are we at a moment of reckoning? We wanted to begin season 2 of In These Times with a focus on that explosive moment of last summer, when millions of Americans of all races and ethnicities, in cities across the nation, joined in the Black Lives Matter movement. Shortly before we began our interviews, the Capitol was attacked by supporters of the former president, who sought to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. In this episode, we’ll hear some reactions to this moment from faculty speakers who will be featured later in our season. We’ll also hear from two students who reflect on the events of the past year, and share a glimpse of their experiences, as young Black adults finding their path in a nation that has yet to come to terms with its legacy of racism and white supremacy. Featuring:Heather Williams, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and a professor of Africana StudiesCamille Charles, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social SciencesHerman Beavers, Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt President’s Distinguished Professor of English and Africana StudiesJelani Williams, C'20Breanna Moore, C’15, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterviews by Loraine Terrell, Jane Carroll, and Lauren Rebecca Thacker Theme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.   

The coronavirus pandemic does not exist in a vacuum. We look at other urgent issues of our time, and examine how they affect and are affected by COVID-19.We start this episode—as most things seem to now—with the partisan polarization in the U.S., asking a political science professor if people really are seeing everything in red or blue. Then a historian and legal scholar tells how we got to this state of racial injustice, decades after the Civil Rights movement. Finally, the German professor leading Penn's environmental humanities program describes life in the climate crisis and the vision she gets from her students of going beyond a "new normal."Guests:Matthew Levendusky, Professor of Political Science and Penny and Robert A. Fox Director of the Fels Institute of GovernmentMary Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History and Africana StudiesBethany Wiggin, Associate Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and Founding Director, Penn Program in Environmental Humanities***Produced by Susan Ahlborn  Narrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke Sietinsons
Interviews by Susan Ahlborn, Blake Cole, and Lauren Rebecca ThackerTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18  Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Illustration by Nick Matej
Logo by Drew Nealis In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

The coronavirus pandemic does not exist in a vacuum. We look at other urgent issues of our time, and examine how they affect and are affected by COVID-19.We start this episode—as most things seem to now—with the partisan polarization in the U.S., asking a political science professor if people really are seeing everything in red or blue. Then a historian and legal scholar tells how we got to this state of racial injustice, decades after the Civil Rights movement. Finally, the German professor leading Penn’s environmental humanities program describes life in the climate crisis and the vision she gets from her students of going beyond a "new normal."Guests:Matthew Levendusky, Professor of Political Science and Penny and Robert A. Fox Director of the Fels Institute of GovernmentMary Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History and Africana StudiesBethany Wiggin, Associate Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and Founding Director, Penn Program in Environmental Humanities***Produced by Susan Ahlborn  Narrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke Sietinsons
Interviews by Susan Ahlborn, Blake Cole, and Lauren Rebecca ThackerTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18  Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Illustration by Nick Matej
Logo by Drew Nealis In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

Allison Davis (1902-1983) was a pioneering anthropologist who did ground-breaking fieldwork in the Jim Crow south,  challenged the racial bias of IQ tests, and became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Chicago. And yet despite these contributions Davis's work is little read today. The Lost Black Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought(University of Chicago Press, 2018) is the first full-length biography of Davis ever written. In it, historian David Varel documents Davis's remarkable life. In this episode in New Books in Anthropology we talk about Davis's collaboration with authors such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Edward Sapir, John Dollard, W. Lloyd Warner Warner, St. Clair Drake, and many others. We also discuss how Davis pioneered concepts such as structural racism and explored the relationship between race and class. David Varel talks about the choices he made as a White academic writing about an African American life, and the importance of widening intellectual genealogies by including 'lost' figures such as Davis. David Varel earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Lost Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought (University of Chicago Press, 2018) is his first book. Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is the author of the article "Welcoming the New Amateurs: A future (and past) for non-academic anthropologists" as well as other books and articles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Allison Davis (1902-1983) was a pioneering anthropologist who did ground-breaking fieldwork in the Jim Crow south,  challenged the racial bias of IQ tests, and became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Chicago. And yet despite these contributions Davis's work is little read today. The Lost Black Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought(University of Chicago Press, 2018) is the first full-length biography of Davis ever written. In it, historian David Varel documents Davis's remarkable life. In this episode in New Books in Anthropology we talk about Davis's collaboration with authors such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Edward Sapir, John Dollard, W. Lloyd Warner Warner, St. Clair Drake, and many others. We also discuss how Davis pioneered concepts such as structural racism and explored the relationship between race and class. David Varel talks about the choices he made as a White academic writing about an African American life, and the importance of widening intellectual genealogies by including 'lost' figures such as Davis. David Varel earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Lost Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought (University of Chicago Press, 2018) is his first book. Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is the author of the article "Welcoming the New Amateurs: A future (and past) for non-academic anthropologists" as well as other books and articles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allison Davis (1902-1983) was a pioneering anthropologist who did ground-breaking fieldwork in the Jim Crow south,  challenged the racial bias of IQ tests, and became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Chicago. And yet despite these contributions Davis's work is little read today. The Lost Black Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought(University of Chicago Press, 2018) is the first full-length biography of Davis ever written. In it, historian David Varel documents Davis's remarkable life. In this episode in New Books in Anthropology we talk about Davis's collaboration with authors such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Edward Sapir, John Dollard, W. Lloyd Warner Warner, St. Clair Drake, and many others. We also discuss how Davis pioneered concepts such as structural racism and explored the relationship between race and class. David Varel talks about the choices he made as a White academic writing about an African American life, and the importance of widening intellectual genealogies by including 'lost' figures such as Davis. David Varel earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Lost Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought (University of Chicago Press, 2018) is his first book. Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is the author of the article "Welcoming the New Amateurs: A future (and past) for non-academic anthropologists" as well as other books and articles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allison Davis (1902-1983) was a pioneering anthropologist who did ground-breaking fieldwork in the Jim Crow south,  challenged the racial bias of IQ tests, and became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Chicago. And yet despite these contributions Davis's work is little read today. The Lost Black Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought(University of Chicago Press, 2018) is the first full-length biography of Davis ever written. In it, historian David Varel documents Davis's remarkable life. In this episode in New Books in Anthropology we talk about Davis's collaboration with authors such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Edward Sapir, John Dollard, W. Lloyd Warner Warner, St. Clair Drake, and many others. We also discuss how Davis pioneered concepts such as structural racism and explored the relationship between race and class. David Varel talks about the choices he made as a White academic writing about an African American life, and the importance of widening intellectual genealogies by including 'lost' figures such as Davis. David Varel earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Lost Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought (University of Chicago Press, 2018) is his first book. Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is the author of the article "Welcoming the New Amateurs: A future (and past) for non-academic anthropologists" as well as other books and articles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allison Davis (1902-1983) was a pioneering anthropologist who did ground-breaking fieldwork in the Jim Crow south,  challenged the racial bias of IQ tests, and became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Chicago. And yet despite these contributions Davis's work is little read today. The Lost Black Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought(University of Chicago Press, 2018) is the first full-length biography of Davis ever written. In it, historian David Varel documents Davis's remarkable life. In this episode in New Books in Anthropology we talk about Davis's collaboration with authors such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Edward Sapir, John Dollard, W. Lloyd Warner Warner, St. Clair Drake, and many others. We also discuss how Davis pioneered concepts such as structural racism and explored the relationship between race and class. David Varel talks about the choices he made as a White academic writing about an African American life, and the importance of widening intellectual genealogies by including 'lost' figures such as Davis. David Varel earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Lost Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought (University of Chicago Press, 2018) is his first book. Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is the author of the article "Welcoming the New Amateurs: A future (and past) for non-academic anthropologists" as well as other books and articles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allison Davis (1902-1983) was a pioneering anthropologist who did ground-breaking fieldwork in the Jim Crow south,  challenged the racial bias of IQ tests, and became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Chicago. And yet despite these contributions Davis's work is little read today. The Lost Black Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought(University of Chicago Press, 2018) is the first full-length biography of Davis ever written. In it, historian David Varel documents Davis's remarkable life. In this episode in New Books in Anthropology we talk about Davis's collaboration with authors such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Edward Sapir, John Dollard, W. Lloyd Warner Warner, St. Clair Drake, and many others. We also discuss how Davis pioneered concepts such as structural racism and explored the relationship between race and class. David Varel talks about the choices he made as a White academic writing about an African American life, and the importance of widening intellectual genealogies by including 'lost' figures such as Davis. David Varel earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Lost Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought (University of Chicago Press, 2018) is his first book. Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is the author of the article "Welcoming the New Amateurs: A future (and past) for non-academic anthropologists" as well as other books and articles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back after a week’s sabbatical, here is the second episode of Lent term, and the first episode featuring a guest host! Barbara Savage, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and the 2018-19 Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History, University of Oxford, speaks to PhD student Arvin Alaigh about her work. This discussion focuses on Prof Savage’s paper ‘Beyond Illusions: War, Imperialism, and Race in Merze Tate’s International Thought’, as well as her wider study of Merze Tate’s intellectual life and place within Africana studies. Also touched on (among many other topics!) are historical discussions of race both within and outside national parameters, modern British approaches to African-American studies, and the first time an answer to one of our ‘standard questions’ has come up more than once! Feel free to get in touch via @camericanist on Twitter or ltd27@cam.ac.uk if you have any questions, suggestions or feedback for the future. Spread the word, and thanks for listening! See you next week!

The Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Mary Frances Berry is one of America's most respected legal historians and human-rights advocates. Her many books include Power in Words, Five Dollars and Pork Chop Sandwich, and Black Resistance/White Law. A former chairwoman of the Commission on Civil Rights, she is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society for Legal History and the recipient of 35 honorary degrees. In History Teaches Us to Resist, she offers a comprehensive tableau of the pushback against previous presidential administrations, posits that antagonistic leaders help progressive movements flourish, and details her six decades as an activist in an array of causes. Watch the video here . Barbara Gohn Day Memorial Lecture (recorded 3/20/2018)

Berry’s bracing call-to-action combines progressive idealism with the pragmatism of a seasoned activist to argue that resistance effects important changes in all political climates. Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, offers a wide range of historical examples of what resistance has accomplished. She also draws on her own experiences as a key figure in the Free South Africa movement and as the chair of the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights from 1993 to 2004. Her inspiring stories include accounts of going to Vietnam, being fired by Reagan, and defying George W. Bush over an appointment to the commission.https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9780807005460Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her new book, History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times, Dr. Mary Frances Berry examines instances of resistance during the times of various presidential administrations.Despair and mourning after the election of a hostile president are part of the push-pull of American politics. But resistance to presidential administrations has historically led to positive change and the defeat of outrageous proposals, even in perilous times. And though conservative presidents require massive public protest to enact policy decisions, the same can be true of progressive ones. For instance, Barack Obama and the Indigenous protests against the Dakota pipeline is one modern example of resistance built on earlier actions. Resistance sometimes fails, but it has usually been successful, even if it does not achieve all of a movement's goals.Dr. Mary Frances Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the former chairwoman of the US Commission on Civil Rights, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society for Legal History, the author of 12 books, and the recipient of 35 honorary degrees.The Brown Lecture Series is supported by the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Family Foundation.Recorded On: Thursday, March 15, 2018

In her new book, History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times, Dr. Mary Frances Berry examines instances of resistance during the times of various presidential administrations.Despair and mourning after the election of a hostile president are part of the push-pull of American politics. But resistance to presidential administrations has historically led to positive change and the defeat of outrageous proposals, even in perilous times. And though conservative presidents require massive public protest to enact policy decisions, the same can be true of progressive ones. For instance, Barack Obama and the Indigenous protests against the Dakota pipeline is one modern example of resistance built on earlier actions. Resistance sometimes fails, but it has usually been successful, even if it does not achieve all of a movement's goals.Dr. Mary Frances Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the former chairwoman of the US Commission on Civil Rights, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society for Legal History, the author of 12 books, and the recipient of 35 honorary degrees.The Brown Lecture Series is supported by the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Family Foundation.

Join April Ryan for the fifth in an ongoing series of discussions focusing on race in America.  As in previous presentations, Ryan will moderate a panel of leading writers and commentators to examine recent and longstanding issues. Speakers include: Mary Frances Berry, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, the former chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the author of nearly a dozen books, the next of which is History Teaches Us To Resist, forthcoming in March from Beacon Press; Bishop T. D. Jakes, senior pastor of The Potter’s House, a global humanitarian organization and 30,000-member church located in Dallas, and the author of many books, including most recently Soar!: Build Your Vision from the Ground Up; Wesley Lowery, Pulitzer Prize-winning national correspondent at the Washington Post, on-air contributor at CNN, and author of the awarded book They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement; and Jason Riley, a journalist, frequent media commentator, member of The Wall Street Journaleditorial board, and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.Since 2015, April Ryan, Washington Bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks and author of At Mama’s Knee and The Presidency in Black and White, has brought together panelists and moderated an ongoing series of discussions on the topic of race in America today. During these panels, which are often broadcast on C-SPAN Book TV, leading writers and commentators address recent and longstanding issues with candor and urgency. Click the images on the left to view previous discussions.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

April talks to Mary Frances Berry about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mary Frances Berry is an American Historian; the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought, and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Berry is also the former chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and the former board chair of Pacifica Radio. Dr. Berry is a former president of the Organization of American Historians, the primary professional organization for historians of the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Mary Frances Berry has been a pioneering intellectual, civil servant, and social critic for more than four decades. In the 1970s and 1980s, Berry served as assistant secretary for education in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; she served on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 1980 to 2004, and was chair for 11 years. A co-founder of the Free South Africa Movement, Berry is the author of seven books, including Long Memory: The Black Experience in America (with co-author John W. Blassingame). She is currently Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.