Presented By: Department of Philosophy
Rebuilding Democracy
Osita Nwanevu in conversation with Elizabeth Anderson on the American Crossroads
As the country heads into the 2026 midterm elections, the University of Michigan welcomes journalist Osita Nwanevu, contributing editor at The New Republic and columnist at The Guardian, for a public conversation with Elizabeth Anderson, the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy.
The evening centers on Nwanevu's new book, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding, which argues that America's democratic troubles run deeper than any single election. The real problem, Nwanevu contends, lies in institutions that were never designed to let majorities govern, and in an economy that keeps power far from ordinary people.
Anderson, one of the country's most influential political philosophers, brings her own work on democracy, equality, and the workplace to the exchange. Together they take up the questions this election season keeps surfacing. Who really holds power in America? Why do so many people feel unheard, and what would it take to build a democracy worthy of the name?
The conversation is free and open to students, faculty, and the broader Ann Arbor community, with time for audience questions.
Schedule
Friday, October 9, 2026 at Ross School of Business, Room TBD
5:30 pm Doors open, light refreshments and Literati book sales in the lobby.
6:00 pm The program begins, including questions and answers at the end.
7:30 pm Refreshments and book signing / sales in the lobby until 8:00 pm.
Sponsors and Partners
U-M Department of Philosophy; Energy Club at Ross; Rackham Graduate School; Poverty Solutions; Business+Impact at Ross; Wallace House; Institute for the Humanities; U-M Department of History; U-M Department of English Language & Literature; Ford School of Public Policy; Center for Positive Organizations; Center for Political Studies; U-M Department of Political Science; Michigan Law; the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program; Science, Technology & Society; Science, Technology & Public Policy at the Ford School; the Erb Institute; Net Impact; and U-M Department of Sociology.
The evening centers on Nwanevu's new book, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding, which argues that America's democratic troubles run deeper than any single election. The real problem, Nwanevu contends, lies in institutions that were never designed to let majorities govern, and in an economy that keeps power far from ordinary people.
Anderson, one of the country's most influential political philosophers, brings her own work on democracy, equality, and the workplace to the exchange. Together they take up the questions this election season keeps surfacing. Who really holds power in America? Why do so many people feel unheard, and what would it take to build a democracy worthy of the name?
The conversation is free and open to students, faculty, and the broader Ann Arbor community, with time for audience questions.
Schedule
Friday, October 9, 2026 at Ross School of Business, Room TBD
5:30 pm Doors open, light refreshments and Literati book sales in the lobby.
6:00 pm The program begins, including questions and answers at the end.
7:30 pm Refreshments and book signing / sales in the lobby until 8:00 pm.
Sponsors and Partners
U-M Department of Philosophy; Energy Club at Ross; Rackham Graduate School; Poverty Solutions; Business+Impact at Ross; Wallace House; Institute for the Humanities; U-M Department of History; U-M Department of English Language & Literature; Ford School of Public Policy; Center for Positive Organizations; Center for Political Studies; U-M Department of Political Science; Michigan Law; the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program; Science, Technology & Society; Science, Technology & Public Policy at the Ford School; the Erb Institute; Net Impact; and U-M Department of Sociology.
Related Links
Co-Sponsored By
- Erb Institute / Ross Business School and School for Environment & Sustainability
- Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) Program
- Institute for the Humanities
- Rackham Graduate School
- Science, Technology, and Public, Policy; Ford School of Public Policy
- Science Technology & Public Policy
- Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
- University of Michigan Law School
- Center for Political Studies - Institute for Social Research
- Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship
- Science, Technology and Society
- Michigan Ross Center for Positive Organizations
- Department of History
- Department of Sociology
- Program in Philosophy, Politics & Economics
- Department of English Language and Literature
- Department of Political Science
- Net Impact @ Ross
- Poverty Solutions
- Wallace House Center for Journalists
- Business+Impact at Michigan Ross
- SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM
- Science, Technology & Society Program
- Energy Club at Ross
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