In this upcoming lecture, Andrew Murphy (Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan) will present his talk titled “Political Martyrdom and American Democracy: From Crispus Attucks to Ashli Babbitt”.
Over the course of American history, debates about the meaning and nature of American democracy have taken place in many different venues and assumed many different forms. This lecture will focus on one particular way in which Americans have argued over the nature of their democracy and sought to advance critical perspectives and alternate visions: through the consecration of dead bodies and the making of political martyrs. He sketches out the component features of political martyrdom – death, consecration, commemoration – and then proceed through a number of important historical examples, from Crispus Attucks in 1770 to Ashli Babbitt in 2021, to illustrate the importance of attending to martyrdom in understanding both the promise of and the ongoing challenges to American democracy.
Andrew Murphy joined the University of Michigan Political Science Department after appointments at Virginia Commonwealth University, Rutgers University, Valparaiso University, and the University of Chicago. His research takes up the intersections between politics and religion, in both historical and contemporary contexts. He is particularly interested in the emergence of religious liberty and liberty of conscience in early modern England and America, and the ongoing ramifications of these debates as they continue to unsettle American politics.
The lecture will take place on Friday, March 22nd, 2024 at 2:00 pm in Woodburn Hall 218. There will be a recption to follow.
The College of Arts