Saladin Ambar of Rutgers University-New Brunswick offers the fifth and final lecture in the "So You Think You Know Civics?" series. In-person at Morven and on Zoom.
We’ve all heard “a government for the people by the people.” But what does this really mean?
Join the library and the Morven Museum & Gardens for the fifth and final program of "So You Think You Know Civics?" This series of free public programs unpacks big questions about the past and present of the U.S. government, and how we can make change in our democracy.
Our speaker for the final program in the series, "What is Political Leadership?" is Saladin Ambar, senior scholar at Eagleton’s Center on the American Governor and Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
This event is hybrid - held both in-person in Morven’s Stockton Education Center and virtually via Zoom webinar. Q&A for live and virtual attendees will follow the talk. A webinar link will be shared with virtual ticket holders upon registration. A recording of the event will be shared following the program.
So You Think You Know Civics? is supported by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
About the Speaker
Saladin Ambar joined the Eagleton Institute of Politics in 2017. Dr. Ambar is a Senior Scholar at Eagleton’s Center on the American Governor and Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. He is the author of six books, including Stars and Shadows: The Politics of Interracial Friendship from Jefferson to Obama (Oxford University Press 2022), which won the PROSE Award for Best Book in Government and Politics from the Association of American Publishers in 2022. Prof. Ambar’s Malcolm X at Oxford Union: Racial Politics in a Global Era (Oxford University Press 2014) is currently in development for a feature length film, by Number 9 Films (UK).
Dr. Ambar’s forthcoming book, Three Murders on the Mississippi: A Thousand Days That Made Abraham Lincoln (Diversion Books, 2025), offers a narrative examination of a series of racially motivated lynchings and murders beginning in 1835, that haunted the young Abraham Lincoln and illuminated for him how vulnerable America was to the rise of despotism. The events became a central focus of Lincoln’s first major speech, the “Lyceum Address,” delivered in 1838.
Dr. Ambar’s research focuses on the institutions of the American presidency and governorship, race and ethnic politics, American political thought, and American political development. He is currently the New Jersey Social Justice Institute’s Director of the Democracy Committee for the New Jersey Reparations Council. Prof. Ambar also serves as scholarly advisor to the Lincoln Presidential Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum.
Dr.Ambar has appeared as an expert commentator in several episodes of CNN’s series “Race for the White House,” and has consulted for the Smithsonian Channel as a fact-checker. He has been a regular guest on PBS New Jersey and New York’s broadcasts of MetroFocus, offering political commentary, and his work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including the Washington Post, CNN, Politico, Newsweek, The Root, the Huffington Post, Literary Hub, the Daily News, and NJ Spotlight.
Before his career in academia, Dr. Ambar taught in the New York City and New Jersey public school systems for 18 years, beginning as a Teach For America recruit. Prof. Ambar is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he received his BS in International Politics; he received his MA in Political Science from the New School for Social Research and completed his PhD in Political Science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. He has recently become a dual citizen with Italy. Dr. Ambar is the father of 17-year-old triplets, and he lives in Philadelphia with his cats Orson and Oscar.
Attendees who attend all five programs (virtually and/or in-person) will receive a free "So You Think You Know Civics?" t-shirt.
Presented in partnership with the Morven Museum & Gardens and with support from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
EVENT TYPE: | Lectures & Panels | Humanities | *Registration Required |
