Decision 2024: US Elections in Historical Perspective

Information from the organiser

In many regards, this election season has felt like a rerun with hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric, the rigged election myth, and flat-out lies emanating from the Right. Yet surprises—from a last-minute candidate switch and an assassination attempt—have also been plentiful. Historians Nell Irvin Painter (Princeton) and Nina Mackert (Leipzig/Erfurt) will provide both historical background and contemporary analysis on the electoral contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Join us for of lively debate of our tumultuous present with deep historical insights.

There will be snacks! And drinks!

Nell Irvin Painter is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, Princeton University, and, at the American Academy in Berlin, a Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow in Letters. Painter is the author of scholarly books of history including the New York Times bestseller The History of White People and Sojourner Truth, A Life, A Symbol, an awardee of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

Nina Mackert is a historian and, during this winter term, interim professor of North American history at the University of Erfurt. Her research focuses on the history of knowledge and bodies and their significance for the orders of modern societies, with a particular emphasis on food, health, and the environment.