Pop Up Discussion Series - Walking the Tightrope: Surviving in Working Class America

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn—Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and authors— center their writing on human rights abuses and advocacy around the world. Their bestselling book, Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, shines a light on the crises facing working-class communities here at home, including poverty, mass incarceration, and addiction. On February 17th, Arts and Lectures will host Kristof and WuDunn for a public lecture on these themes and their reflections on today's civic and political landscape.

Leading up to this event, the Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy will be hosting a 2-part Pop-Up Discussion series featuring an in-person moderated discussion with Kristof and WuDunn on Thursday, February 17th from 3-4:15PM. In preparation for this exciting opportunity to meet the authors, the series will begin with a preliminary group discussion of excerpts from Tightrope exploring the policy choices that have created a fragile tightrope, how individuals slip off, and the societal consequences. We’ll discuss expanding the narrative beyond individual responsibility and “bad choices” to institutional and policy choice failures, and how the historical attachment to ideas about American “exceptionalism” stand in the way of this needed shift. We will also discuss the authors’ proposals to create a more inclusive path forward, and the power of storytelling and statistical reporting in motivating engagement and advocacy for change.

PART 1: Preliminary Discussion - Tuesday, February 15th (6-7 PM via Zoom)

PART 2: In-Person Discussion with Authors - Thursday, February 17th (3-4:15PM)

RSVP by clicking here by February 14th

This event is co-sponsored by UCSB Arts and Lectures.