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Deep and accelerating inequality; unprecedented political polarisation; vitriolic public discourse; a fraying social fabric; public and private narcissism – Americans today seem to agree on only one thing: This is the worst of times. But we’ve been here before.
Join us for the launch of The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again, the new book by Professor Robert D. Putnam.
Robert, jointly with his co-author Shaylyn Romney Garrett, will be discussing the book’s exploration of more than a century of history, a confluence of trends that brought us from an "I" society to a "We" society and then back again. He draws inspiring lessons for our time from an earlier era, when a dedicated group of reformers righted the ship, putting the US on a path to becoming a society once again based on community.
Part of ESRC's Festival of Social Science, this event is hosted by the Campaign for Social Science and Academy of Social Sciences and is jointly supported by SAGE Publishing and King's College London's ESRC Impact Acceleration Account.
Joining Robert and Shaylyn in discussion, and exploring what the trends and lessons from the US mean for the UK and other countries, will be Professor Jennifer Rubin and Lord David Willetts.
About the speakers:
Robert D. Putnam (author) is a political scientist and Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is also Visiting Professor and Director of the Manchester Graduate Summer Programme in Social Change, University of Manchester (UK).
Shaylyn Romney Garrett (co-author) is a writer and award-winning social entrepreneur. She is a founding contributor to "Weave: The Social Fabric Project", an Aspen Institute initiative.
Professor Jennifer Rubin is the Executive Chair of the ESRC and Professor of Public Policy at King’s College London.
Rt Hon. Lord David Willetts is President of the Resolution Foundation.
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