05/29- “America at 250: Critical Perspectives”

May 22, 2026 Amanda Rajnauth

Please join our friends from the Political Theory Workshop at the CUNY Graduate Center on Friday, May 29th from 10:00 – 4:30 PM for a one-day symposium: “America at 250: Critical Perspectives.” The keynote speaker is Robyn Marasco (The New School). Over the course of the day, they will have three panels of established and junior scholars that will reflect on American political thought, political theoretical interventions on the nation’s history and culture, and provide analysis on the conjuncture.

In advance of America’s 250th anniversary – when the capitol will be awash in spectacle, nostalgia, and triumph – this symposium gathers established scholars and junior academics for theoretical interventions and reflections on American history and politics. How can the history of American political thought help us better understand our present moment? How does critical political theory allow us to understand the tensions and contradictions that have given rise to the present antidemocratic moment? What can the archive of radical thought and movements in American history tell us about how to revive democratic practices?

Over the course of the day, “America at 250: Critical Perspectives” will feature three panels on the critical legacies of American political thought, political theoretical interventions on race, gender, and paranoia in American politics, and analysis of the origins of our antidemocratic moment. At 3:30 pm, Robyn Marasco (The New School) will provide a keynote address on Adorno, the authoritarian personality, and the conjuncture.

You can register for the event here.

Light lunch and refreshments will be provided as well.