On 5 November 2024, up to 161 million American voters will go to the polls to vote for the next president of the United States. How do the stories nations tell help make sense of claims to truth in such a politically charged and polarised moment? American literary classics contain central narratives of truth, democracy, and freedom that have shaped US national identity for centuries. From the fantasy of the 'American Dream' in The Great Gatsby to the racial stratification of Gone with the Wind, literature offers a unique pathway to explore the political and cultural concerns of the past and the contemporary moment.
Renowned author, scholar and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities, Professor Sarah Churchwell, leads a discussion of the implications of America’s stories about itself ahead of the 2024 Presidential election.
This event is part of the series Civic Stories in an Age of Polarisation: The New Humanity Makers presented by the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative.