Radcliffe Institute: Who's Choosin' Who? Race, Gender, and the New American Politics

Date: 

Thursday, October 23, 2014, 4:15pm

Location: 

Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

2014–2015 Maurine and Robert Rothschild Lecture
Melissa Harris-Perry - Who’s Choosin’ Who? Race, Gender, and the New American Politics

Lecture by Melissa Harris-Perry, Presidential Endowed Professor of Political Science at Wake Forest University, founding director of Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South, MSNBC host, columnist for the Nation, and author of Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America.

Introduction by Lawrence D. Bobo who is the W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University and holds appointments in the Department of Sociology and the Department of African and African American Studies.

Back in 1985, Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin released what became a widely popular single asking, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?” It’s been nearly 30 years, but the question of just who is playing the fool is still a great one for American politics. Just short of the 2014 midterm elections we can ask, “Who’s choosin’ who?” Why do midterm elections draw far fewer women and voters of color to the ballot box? What difference do changing demographics make in American elections? And how do voting restrictions passed by elected officials shape the electorate who then make the choice of whether or not they return to office?

Free and open to the public. For more information, please visit http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2014-melissa-harris-perry-lecture.

 Alumna and former Radcliffe College trustee Maurine Pupkin Rothschild ’40 and her husband Robert Rothschild ’39 established the annual Rothschild Lecture at the Schlesinger Library in 1989. Distinguished speakers in the series have included Gail Collins, Angela Davis, Eve Ensler, Julio Frenk, Linda Greenhouse, Anita Hill, Samantha Power, Adrienne Rich, Amartya Sen, Reva Siegel, and Maxine Singer.

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University is dedicated to creating and sharing transformative ideas across the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. The Fellowship Program annually supports the work of 50 leading artists and scholars. Academic Ventures fosters collaborative research projects and sponsors lectures and conferences that engage scholars with the public. The Schlesinger Library documents the lives of American women of the past and present for the future, furthering the Institute’s commitment to women, gender, and society. Learn more about the people and programs of the Radcliffe Institute at www.radcliffe.harvard.edu.