Julian Zelizer, in conversation with Sean Wilentz, presents his new book, "In Defense of Partisanship," a reimagining of the prevailing partisan gridlock through party-oriented reforms.
Partisanship is a dirty word in American politics. If there is one issue on which almost everyone in our divided country seems to agree, it’s the belief that the intense loyalty within the electorate toward Democrats and Republicans is the source of our democratic ills—division, dysfunction, distrust, and disinformation. The possibilities that responsible partisanship can offer were at the heart of an important intellectual tradition that flourished in the 1950s and 1960s, one which was institutionalized through a sweeping set of congressional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s.
Julian Zelizer’s "In Defense of Partisanship" reimagines what partisanship might look like going forward from today. A new era of party-oriented reforms has the potential to pay respect to the deep differences that divide us—simultaneously creating a more functional path on which two responsible political parties compete to shape policy while still being able to govern.
In Conversation:
Julian E. Zelizer is the author and editor of numerous books, including Our Nation at Risk: Election Integrity as a National Security Issue and Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich and the Rise of the New Republican Party. He is Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, a CNN political analyst, and a contributor to NPR’s Here & Now. Sean Wilentz is the author of many books on American history and politics, including No Property in Man; The Rise of American Democracy; and The Politicians and the Egalitarians, chosen as Best History Book of the Year by Kirkus. He is Professor of American History at Princeton University. Together, Zelizer and Wilentz co-edited the book Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies about Our Past.
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Sean Wilentz studies U.S. social and political history. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on U.S. history, focusing on the 19th century and has also taught courses on American literature and 20th-century American culture and politics. His major work to date, The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln (2005), was awarded the Bancroft Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His most recent book The Politicians and the Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics (2016) looks at the commanding role party politics has played in America’s enduring struggle against economic inequality.
Presented in partnership with Labyrinth Books and with support from 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.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Humanities | Civic Life | Author Talks | *No Registration |
TAGS: | NEH |
