A Crisis of Democracy

1:00:20 A Crisis of Democracy

By:

Leslie King

26 Jan 2021 36

The deadly storming of the Capitol Building on January 6 dramatically underscored the current crisis in American democracy. A panel discussion, “A Crisis of Democracy,” brought together Virginia Tech scholars to examine the state of democracy in the United States today, while also making connections to the global political landscape.

Laura Belmonte, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and a professor of history, moderated the discussion. The panelists included:

Farida Jalalzai, associate dean for global initiatives and engagement in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and a professor of political science;
Brandy Faulkner, Gloria D. Smith Professor of Black Studies at Virginia Tech and a collegiate assistant professor of political science; and
Michael Horning, an associate professor of multimedia journalism in the School of Communication and associate director of social informatics research in the Virginia Tech Center for Human-Computer Interaction.

Sponsored by the Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, the panel discussion is also part of a Virginia Tech series of conversations and workshops on America, Race, and Democracy. This new collaborative effort is a partnership of the Office for Inclusion and Diversity, the Academy of Transdisciplinary Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, and the Equity and Social Disparity in the Human Condition Destination Area.

Good evening, welcome to our panel on a crisis of democracy. And I am Farida Jalalzai and I'm a professor of political science and associate dean of global initiatives and engagement in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. The deadly storming of the Capitol building on January 6 dramatically underscored the current crisis in American democracy. Our aim for tonight is to bring together Virginia Tech scholars to place recent troubling events in a historical and comparative context to better understand the fundamental challenges to American democracy, but also discuss where the nation can and should go from here. And this event is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, and this is a discussion that's also part of a Virginia Tech series of conversations and workshops on America, race, and democracy. This represents a new collaborative effort in partnership with the Office for Inclusion and Diversity and the Academy of Transdisciplinarity Studies. We have three panelists tonight, including myself, who will first each present their views on current events we are currently grappling with. We'll begin, though, with opening remarks by Dean Laura Belmonte, who will moderate the Q and A after the presentations. And you can enter your questions in the chat box that will turn to after the presentations. So please welcome tonight's moderator, Dr. Laura Belmonte, dea