Join us Friday, October 23, at 5 pm, for a lecture given by renowned political philosopher Danielle Allen, presented as part of the 11th Kuroda Symposium in Early American Politics and Culture, organized by the Political Science, American Studies, and History Departments. This lecture is held in conjunction with the exhibition Mark Thomas Gibson: We Are A Constellation and will take place in the gallery.

America at 250: The Declaration’s Unfinished Promise

As the nation marks its semiquincentennial, no one is better positioned to interpret the moment than the author of Our Declaration, hailed as a modern classic of American civic thought. Allen draws the arc from 1776 to today, showing how the Declaration’s promise of equality has been contested, betrayed, and renewed across two and a half centuries — and what it demands of us now. Neither nostalgic nor cynical, this talk gives audiences a way to celebrate the founding honestly: with clear eyes about its failures and genuine conviction about its unfinished work.

About Danielle Allen

Danielle Allen is a political philosopher whose current research focuses on democracy renovation: how to reconnect citizens to civic power through education and institutional redesign, how to make political institutions more responsive, accountable, and participatory, and how to make public policy that supports democracy. Professor Allen is the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University.

Her most recent book, Justice by Means of Democracy (University of Chicago Press, 2023), provides the theoretical foundation for this work. Her forthcoming book, The Radical Duke, a biography of an 18th-century British political reformer, is due out with Liveright/Norton in 2026.

Through the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, she leads applied research on electoral reform, civic infrastructure, institutional design, and democracy-supportive public policy. Through the Democratic Knowledge Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she develops and scales civic education curricula for preK-12 students and higher education. She is the publisher and founder of The Renovator Substack and a contributing columnist at The Atlantic Magazine.

About the Kuroda Symposium

The Kuroda Symposium in Early American Politics and Culture was established to honor Professor Tadahisa Kuroda’s contribution in American history and pedagogy at Skidmore. It is a collaborative effort between the History, Political Science, and American Studies Departments at Skidmore College. Past lecturers include David W. Blight, Gordon Wood, and Jill Lepore.