Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching lecture
Join Dr. Lendol Calder, one of three finalists for the prestigious Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, on Oct. 13 at 5:30 p.m. in Old Main¡¯s Forum (room 226). He will present his public lecture, ¡°Make America Mean Something Again: Rethinking American History in the Age of Trump.¡± The lecture will have light refreshments. Space is limited, so RSVP to reserve your seat!
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He is the most improbable yet influential political figure of our time: Donald Trump. When he descended the golden escalator in 2015, many dismissed it as a stunt, not a serious presidential bid. Yet months later, Trump¡¯s ¡°Make America Great Again¡± story captivated millions.
Drawing on three decades of listening to college students as they try to make sense of America¡¯s past, I will examine how a dearth of coherent national narratives created a vacuum that Trump¡¯s story of America filled. Historians erred, I will argue, when they gave up national storytelling in teaching and research, ceding ground to purveyors of nostalgia and simple slogans.
Finally, I will survey possibilities for forging a new national narrative¡ªone that respects evidence, acknowledges the complexities of America¡¯s past, and equips future generations to engage history with critical insight.