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December 6, 2023
RECAP: “Imagining Freedom: Toni Morrison and the Work of Words,” 11/17 Colloquium w/ UVA Prof. Lawrie Balfour
A term both inspiring and misunderstood, ‘freedom’ holds a particular place in the historical and lexical narrative of the United States, where its meaning is rooted as much in a right to enslave as it is in a defense of liberty. What would it take, UVA James Hart Professor of Politics Lawrie Balfour asked in […]
November 10, 2023
RECAP: “John Locke in America,” 10/20 Colloquium w/ University of Montana Prof. Claire Rydell Arcenas
“I’m gonna tell you everything you need to know about…local government. ‘Life, Liberty, and Property.’ John Locke.” —Ron Swanson, Parks and Recreation Though not necessarily the most reliable narrator—at the very least, not the most ideologically neutral one—Ron Swanson does capture Locke’s uniquely central place in American culture and the American political imagination today. His […]
September 14, 2023
RECAP: 9/12 James E. Fleming & Linda C. McClain Constitution Day Lecture with University of Cambridge’s Gary Gerstle
So much of political discourse in the United States focuses on two-, four-, and six-year election cycles. Yet, so much of politics happens outside of them. As a way to both broaden and refine the conception of political time, University of Cambridge Paul Mellon Professor of American History Gary Gerstle, the Kinder Institute’s 2023 James […]
September 6, 2023
RECAP: “State of Silence,” 9/1 Colloquium with George Mason Prof. Sam Lebovic
There are any number of contradictions that can trace their roots back to the Espionage Act. It’s the final legal backstop propping up America’s secrecy regime, yet it’s repeatedly been at the center of the crises of legitimacy this regime has faced over time (for recent examples, see: Trump/Mar-a-Lago, Biden/Garage, Clinton/Server). In the 21st century […]
May 12, 2023
Kinder Institute Alum Paul Odu Receives 2023 Mark Twain Fellowship
As an undergraduate, Paul Odu did more or less everything that the Kinder Institute offers Mizzou students. He was in the Society of Fellows and wrote for the Journal on Constitutional Democracy; he studied in D.C. as a member of the Kinder Scholars Program and at Corpus Christi College as our 2021-22 Oxford Fellow; he […]
May 12, 2023
RECAP: “Lessons from the Legacy of Broken Concord,” Spring 2023 Keynote w/ Prof. Stephen Aron
Views on the history of the American West have shifted drastically, and importantly, in recent decades. What was once a celebration of destiny manifested has become an indictment of ruthless expansion. The language of social progress, political democracy, and economic development has been replaced by ethnic cleansing, settler colonialism, and genocide. Brutal fact, in other […]