"Degenerations of Democracy”: A Clough Distinguished Lecture by Craig Calhoun

Craig Calhoun is a world-renowned social scientist whose work connects sociology to culture, communication, politics, philosophy, and economics. Currently the University Professor of Social Sciences at Arizona State University, he has previously served as Director of the London School of Economics, President of the Social Science Research Council, and University Professor of the Social Sciences at New York University.
As the first speaker in the Clough Center’s relaunched “Distinguished Lecture” series, Prof. Calhoun will address the issues explored in his most recent book, Degenerations of Democracy, co-authored with Charles Taylor and Dilip Gaonkar. Challenging commonplace narratives, this work interrogates the underlying causes of democratic decline, and examines the most promising strategies for revitalizing democracy across the globe. Calhoun’s respondent is Elizabeth McKenna, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and an expert in social movements, political parties, and grassroots democratic politics.