Please join Professor Anker for a discussion of her new book Ugly Freedoms (Duke University Press, 2022). Freedom is the highest ideal in American politics, but its legacy is complex. Throughout American history, freedom has supported emancipation and individual liberty, but has also supported white supremacy, oppression, and misogyny. These “ugly freedoms” legitimate the right to harm and subjugate others. This talk will examine ugly freedoms from the history of slavery to the January 6 insurrection. But it will also highlight visions of freedom that emphasize the flourishing of all people, not just a privileged few.

Professor Anker is Associate Professor of American Studies and Political Science at the George Washington University, where she is also Director of the Film Studies Program. Her work lies at the intersection of political theory, cultural studies, feminist theory, and affect studies. She is the author of the multiple prize-winning book Orgies of Feeling: Melodrama and the Politics of Freedom (Duke University Press 2014) and the brand new book Ugly Freedoms (Duke University Press, 2022). She has published articles in prestigious journals including Political Theory, Social Research, Theory & Event, American Literary History, Politics and Gender, Contemporary Political Theory, and the Journal of Communication.

Sponsored by the Simpson Center for the Humanities; Department of Political Science; Program on Ethics; Hilen Endowment in American Literature and Culture; and Department of Law, Societies & Justice.