Right, Left, and Center: How to Argue Politics
The U.S. is perhaps more polarized than it has been since the American Civil War. There are plenty of indicators suggesting this is true—political disagreements, religious affiliations, and class identity. The polarization extends into our own personal lives as well—from conversations with your uncle at Thanksgiving, and even to your choice in music and social media platforms. This course will examine the sources of this polarization—focusing on the history of the disputes—and potential resolutions. What institutions have Americans invented to work around our disagreements so that we can all aspire toward the ideals instilled in our nation since its founding?
Dr. Kevin Schultz
Kevin M. Schultz is currently Chair of the Department of History at University of Illinois Chicago. An award-winning historian, Prof. Schultz has published widely and excelled as a public intellectual, academic, and teacher. His most recent book, the winner of the Robert F. Lucid Award from the Norman Mailer Society, examines the fascinatingly intertwined lives of right-wing firebrand William F. Buckley, Jr. and left-wing radical Norman Mailer as a way to better understand the 1960s. Buckley and Mailer: The Difficult Friendship That Shaped The 1960s (W.W. Norton & Co.) came out in June 2015, was an Amazon.com #1 New Release in US History, and was reviewed widely. A distinguished teacher, Prof. Schultz has won several major awards for his teaching, including the Teaching Recognition Award from the Council for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at UIC twice and the 2012-13 Shirley A. Bill Award for Excellent Teaching, an award selected by UIC History faculty, graduate students, and majors. Prof. Schultz is also the author of HIST, a popular college-level textbook of American history, now in its fifth edition (Cengage Learning, 5th ed. 2018).
Meet the Instructor
Courses in our special learning campaign are open to anyone in the community who registers at no cost. The Q&A will be reserved for current high-school students.
