Issues for the week of October 9, 2020 - Public Seminar

This is an archive of past weeks’ issues and essays.
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Informing debate about the pressing issues of our times

Curated Essays for the

Week of October 9

Politics
Teaching Patriotism
Steven B. Smith
Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and professor of philosophy
Amy Coney Barrett’s Fall from Grace
Eileen Hunt Botting
Professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame
The American Constitution in Crisis: 1861 and 2020
A Political Paradox
Rebecca Lubot
Government Affairs and Public Policy Expert
The Foiled Confederate Coup of 1861
Claire Potter and Ted Widmer
Book Review
Elena Ferrante Returns to Naples
Daniel DiMassa
Assistant Professor of German at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Annals of the Pandemic
Tense Times with Protesters in a Brooklyn Hot Zone
Mitchell Abidor
Brooklyn-based writer and translator
Our Columnists
COVID-19 Snaps Donald Trump’s Spell
John Stoehr
Visiting assistant professor of public policy and liberal studies at Wesleyan University, and editor and publisher of the Editorial Board
A Battle for the Soul of the Nation
Heather Cox Richardson
Professor of History, Boston College