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The Great Experiment: A Conversation with Yascha Mounk

The Institute for Humane Studies invites you to join us for a conversation with Yascha Mounk, associate professor of the practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University and Contributing Editor at The Atlantic, about his new book, “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure” (Penguin Press, 2022) on Thursday, June 23, from 12:00p.m.–1:00p.m. ET. 

Mounk examines how diverse democracies have long suffered from the ills of domination, fragmentation, or structured anarchy. So it is hardly surprising that most people are now deeply pessimistic that different groups might be able to integrate in harmony, celebrating their differences without essentializing them. But Mounk shows us that the past can offer crucial insights for how to do better in the future.

Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini senior fellow at Stanford University, calls “The Great Experiment” a  “blueprint for a more optimistic future.”

Emily Chamlee-Wright, president and CEO of the Institute for Humane Studies, will host the conversation, which will be followed by Q&A. 

Yascha Mounk is a writer, academic and public speaker known for his work on the crisis of democracy and the defense of philosophically liberal values.

Born in Germany to Polish parents, Yascha received his BA in History from Trinity College Cambridge and his PhD in Government from Harvard University. He is an associate professor of the practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, where he holds appointments in both the School of Advanced International Studies and the SNF Agora Institute. Yascha is also a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Founder of Persuasion.

Yascha has written four books: “Stranger in My Own Country – A Jewish Family in Modern Germany,” a memoir about Germany’s fraught attempts to deal with its past; “The Age of Responsibility – Luck, Choice and the Welfare State,” which argues that a growing obsession with the concept of individual responsibility has transformed western welfare states; “The People versus Democracy – Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It,” which explains the causes of the populist rise and investigates how to renew liberal democracy; and “The Great Experiment – Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure,” which argues that anybody who seeks to help ethnically and religiously diverse democracies thrive has reason to embrace a more ambitious vision for their future than is now fashionable. 

Emily Chamlee-Wright is the president and CEO of the Institute for Humane Studies, which supports and partners with scholars to advance a deeper understanding of classical liberal ideas in the academic, policy, and public conversations that are shaping the 21st century. She joined IHS in 2016 with an accomplished record as an academic leader, scholar, and educator. From 2012 to 2016 she served as provost and dean at Washington College and was previously the Elbert H. Neese professor of economics and associate dean at Beloit College. Emily earned her PhD in economics from George Mason University. She is a former W.K. Kellogg National Leadership Fellow and received the excellence in teaching award from Beloit College and a Distinguished Alumna Award from George Mason University. She has six books to her credit, including “Liberal Learning and the Art of Self-Governance” and “The Cultural and Political Economy of Recovery.”

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  5. If you are a potential fit for the position, you will interview with additional staff members
  6. If you are the candidate chosen, we will extend a job offer

 

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