HarvardSpeak LA: America’s Democracy and Governing Crisis – A Conversation with Harvard Government and Sociology Prof. Theda Skocpol

Prof. Theda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University. At Harvard, she has served as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (2005-2007) and as Director of the Center for American Political Studies (2000-2006). The event will be moderated by Neil B. Morganbesser ’86.

Thursday, June 5, 2025 @ 5:00-6:30pm
Virtual Event via Zoom (details sent after registration)

Register: Please RSVP below
Cost: No charge
Contact: Neil Morganbesser, nmorganbesser@gmail.com

About our Speaker:
In 2007, Prof. Skocpol was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, one of the largest and most prestigious awards in political science, for her "visionary analysis of the significance of the state for revolutions, welfare, and political trust, pursued with theoretical depth and empirical evidence." Prof. Skocpol’s work covers an unusually broad spectrum of topics including both comparative politics (States and Social Revolutions, 1979) and American politics (Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States, 1992). Her books and articles have been widely cited in political science literature and have won numerous awards, including the 1993 Woodrow Wilson Award of the American Political Science Association for the best book in political science for the previous year. Prof. Skocpol’s research focuses on U.S. social policy and civic engagement in American democracy, including changes since the 1960s. She has recently launched new projects on the development of U.S. higher education and on the transformations of U.S. federal policies in the Obama era. Prof. Skocpol will discuss “America’s Democracy and Governing Crisis.”

About HarvardSpeak LA:
HarvardSpeak LA is a program designed to bring preeminent Harvard faculty and researchers to discuss current topics of interest with the Harvard Club of Southern California through one-hour webinars, consisting of a presentation followed by Q&A. Recent HarvardSpeak LA events have included Senior Research Fellow Loretta Mickley on “Wildfires in the Western U.S.” and Astronomy Prof. Avi Loeb on “Evidence of Extraterrestrial Intelligence?” in February, Law School Prof. Randall Kennedy on his forthcoming book, “How We Overcame: Protest, Law, and the Demise of Jim Crow” in March, and retired government Prof. Harvey Mansfield in April.

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Refund Policy: We do not provide refunds for any of our events.