Polarization and Pandemic

Virtual

2020, the year of the pandemic, has also been a watershed for American politics. The high drama of the US Presidential Election, and its equally eventful aftermath, have raised serious doubts about the level of polarization within the populace, the powers of the President, and the robustness of the American democratic setup.

Disclaimer: This is not intended to hurt the sentiments or feelings of any person, political party, nation or community. It does not deal with any specific facts or discussions regarding any country’s elections or speculation about the same. The discussion will be of a generic nature focusing on the pandemic and polarisation. The photographs/footage used are merely to evoke the context and not to delve into it.

Speaker Profiles

John Mark Hansen

Charles L. Hutchinson Distinguished Service Professor, The University of Chicago

John Mark Hansen is the Charles L. Hutchinson Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science and the College. His research has focused on legislative politics, interest group politics, citizen activism, and public opinion. He is the author of Mobilization, Participation and Democracy in America (1993) with Steven Rosenstone and Gaining Access: Congress and the Farm Lobby, 1919-1981 (1991). His most recent book, from 2019, is City in a Garden: A Historical Guide to Hyde Park and Kenwood. Hansen is currently working to expand his historical research to the whole of Chicago’s South Side. Hansen has received several awards for his scholarship, including election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. In addition to his distinguished scholarship, Hansen has held several leadership roles in the University. He has served as Dean of the Division of the Social Sciences, as Chair of the Political Science Department, as Associate Provost for Education and Research, and as senior advisor to the University’s president. In 2016 to 2017, he was the director of the University’s Center in Delhi. Hansen joined the University faculty in 1986 as Assistant Professor in Political Science and rose to Associate Professor in 1992 and to Professor in 1994. He received a BA in 1981 from the University of Kansas and a PhD in 1987 from Yale University.

Avik Chanda

Bestselling Author, Columnist, Entrepreneur

Avik Chanda is a bestselling author, columnist, business advisor, and entrepreneur. His book, From Command To Empathy: Using EQ in the Age of Disruption (HarperCollins, 2017), was featured in Amazon India’s Best Reads under Business, Strategy and Management. His latest book, Dara Shukoh: The Man Who Would Be King (HarperCollins, 2019), was on the National Non-Fiction Top 10 Bestsellers List for 10 consecutive weeks, garnered huge critical success, and has been released as an audiobook by Audible. Avik is the Founder and CEO of NUVAH ELINT LLP, a NASSCOM 10,000 incubated startup, and is also a visiting faculty at IIT-Delhi and XLRI.