Elisabeth Anker to present "Sweet Liberty: Sugar, Slavery, and American Freedom" May 7

Elisabeth Anker, associate professor of American Studies and Political Science at George Washington University, will present "Sweet Liberty: Sugar, Slavery, and American Freedom" at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7 in Communications Facility 120.

The presentation, which is the WWU Political Science Department's 2019 Gordon Sandison Memorial Lecture, is free and open to the public.

Anker is a political scientist and is a frequent media commentator on national news outlets and has appeared on CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, Voice of America, and other television and radio networks.

Her research and teaching interests are at the intersection of political theory, critical theory, cultural analysis, and media studies.  Anker's book, "Orgies of Feeling: Melodrama and the Politics of Freedom," examines the role of melodrama in U.S. politics. Melodrama is a powerful political discourse that intensifies suffering and galvanizes national sentiment to legitimate state violence.