Dr. Jonathan Zimmerman is Judy & Howard Berkowitz Professor in Education and Professor of History of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Democracy in Education? Culture Wars, Free Speech, and the Battle Over America”
Americans have always argued over the purpose and content of public education. But for most of our history, these conflicts focused on the role of religion and faith in public schools. Now we’re arguing about our conceptions of America’s past, present, and future, which have become quasi-religious beliefs in their own right. The big question is whether—and if so, how—we can teach multiple views of America in our public schools, rather than teaching a single story about it. Dr. Zimmerman’s lecture will focus on points of division and conversion in contemporary culture wars.