Myths are the main drivers of America’s culture wars - pitting us against each other, shaping our identity and bringing us to the brink of an existential crisis.

Richard Slotkin, widely regarded as one of the preeminent cultural critics of our time, engages in an important Conversations discussion with Dr. Daniel Barrett focusing on some foundational myths that have shaped American identity. Slotkin and Barrett will discuss how contemporary politics are heavily influenced by these myths, on both sides of the political aisle.

Slotkin’s most recent book, A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America, was published this year and longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award in Nonfiction.

Richard Slotkin is an author, cultural critic and historian who is a three-time finalist for the National Book Award. In addition to his most recent work, he is the author of Lost Battalions, a New York Times Notable Book, and an award-winning trilogy on the myth of the frontier in America–Regeneration Through Violence, The Fatal Environment, and Gunfighter Nation–as well as three historical novels: The Crater: A Novel, The Return of Henry Starr, and Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln. He is the Olin Professor of English and American Studies at Wesleyan University.

Dr. Daniel W. Barrett is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Western Connecticut State University.  A former resident of Redding, he graduated with a BA from Wesleyan University, earned his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Arizona State University and served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Health Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

The virtual program will be held over Zoom:

https://marktwainlibrary.org/events/richard-slotkin-on-american-myths-conversations-truth-myth-democracy-virtual/

This discussion is part of the award-winning Conversations Series, created in partnership by the Redding League of Women Voters and The Mark Twain Library.

Many thanks to Mark Twain Library for providing this important series! Participating area Libraries and Leagues incude:

Easton Public Library, Weston Public Library,  Friends of the Weston Public Library, Newtown’s C.H. Booth Library, Ridgefield Library, Woodbury Public Library, The League of Women Voters of Weston, The League of Women Voters of Ridgefield, The League of Women Voters of Northern Fairfield County

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Woodbury Public Library.