Speaking in advance of a Sept. 23 lecture at the Maine university, Colin Woodard discussed Nationhood Lab’s work, the value of the humanities, and the threats to U.S. democracy
Nationhood Lab director Colin Woodard discussed his project’s work to help protect U.S. democracy and made a defense for the value of liberal arts education on the latest episode of the “Oh, the Humanities” podcast, a project of the University of New England’s Center for Global Humanities.
Host Josh Pahigan, director of the humanities center, summed up the wide ranging discussion as including Woodard’s “best-selling books on American regionalism, witnessing the supposed ‘end of history’ in Eastern Europe, his reporting on the effects of climate change, and his work as a historical consultant for the video game Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. Our discussion eventually arrived at the important work Colin’s doing to counteract the rising threat of authoritarianism for Nationhood Lab at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University.”
“I’m a walking, talking posted child not only for study aborad programs, but for liberal arts and interdisciplinary functions,” Woodard said. “This work incorporates history, political science, sociology anthropology and bits of other stuff with cultural geography to get at a correct picture of the world.”
The podcast was recorded in advance of Woodard’s upcoming lecture on Nationhood Lab’s work at UNE’s campus in Portland, Maine, September 23. Pahigan wrote about it in an OpEd in Maine’s largest newspaper, the Portland Press Herald, which argued that the humanities are not dying out.
“If you think the humanities are dying, I encourage you to join us for Colin’s talk at UNE,” Pahigan wrote. “See the crowd of people, young and old, that turns out to share in his wisdom … all made possible through a lifetime of humanities exploration. I have a feeling you’ll change your mind.”
Woodard’s talk at UNE is free and open to the public, with details available here. He is also speaking on Nationhood Lab topics at Gettysburg College’s Eisenhower Institute (Sept. 17), the University of Maine’s flagship campus in Orono (Sept. 25), Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah (Oct. 3), Bates College in Lewiston, Maine (Oct. 8), the Gloucster (Massachusetts) Meeting House (Nov. 16), the University of Rhode Island (Dec. 5), National Defense University in Washington, D.C. (Dec. 11) and the Austin, Texas meeting of the National Conference of State Legislators (Dec. 12).
