Mainstream conservative rhetoric, dating even far back in the 20th century, has put the United States on track to our contemporary firestorm of racist, misogynist, and gendered aggrievement. Paul E. Johnson (University of Pittsburgh) complicates philosophical narratives about conservatism as a heterodox ideology, focusing on its reliance upon cunning, longstanding identity politics and the possessive liberal tradition.

Allison M. Prasch (University of Wisconsin, Madison) considers how presidential appearances overseas broadcast American superiority during the Cold War. Drawing on extensive archival research, she theorizes the “global rhetorical presidency,” and reveals how the president’s physical presence defined the boundaries of the “Free World” and elevated the United States in Cold War geopolitics.

Join Professors Maggie Hennefeld (CSCL), Travis Workman (AMES), and Lorenzo Fabbri (FRIT) for a joint presentation of their recently published books on cinema, aesthetics, and politics: Death by Laughter: Female Hysteria and Early Cinema (Columbia University Press, 2024);  Political Moods: Film Melodrama and the Cold War (University of California Press, 2023); and Cinema is the Strongest Weapon: Race-Making and Resistance in Fascist Italy (University of Minnesota Press, 2023).

Presenter: Dr. Caitlin Bruce, University of Pittsburgh
Introduced and Moderated by: Dr. Emily Winderman, University of Minnesota