Lectures on Tap - "The Use and Abuse of American Heroes"

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🧠 Lecture: "The Use and Abuse of American Heroes"

🎙️ Speaker: Prof. Bruce Peabody

Join us for a thought-provoking evening as Prof. Bruce Peabody explores how Americans create, celebrate, and sometimes distort their heroes. From the constitutional framers and civil rights icons to the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he will examine who shapes our narratives of heroism—and why it matters.

Drawing on his groundbreaking book, Where Have All the Heroes Gone? The Changing Nature of American Valor, Prof. Peabody will guide us through shifting models of U.S. heroism: from classical ideals to uniquely American, democratic, and pragmatic versions, and into our current hyperpartisan age. Along the way, he’ll reveal gaps between elite and public views of “good character,” and what these differences mean for political socialization and trust in the 21st century.

Bruce Peabody is Professor of Government and Politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University and author of numerous scholarly works, including Wicked Leadership in Film (2024). His commentary has appeared in major outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal.

Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌