What’s Going On? American Politics 1970–2020

In 1970, the year that Howard Community College opened, the country was deeply divided with political protest, social unrest, conflicts over racism, and urban riots. Marvin Gaye wrote the song “What’s Going On” that year to ask the question, “Why?” We could ask that same question today. Is this a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same? In fact, it’s quite different. In this talk, trace the changes in American politics over the past 50 years and try to answer the question: “What’s Going On”?

Free and open to the public, this series is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Columbia Patuxent. Participants are asked to RSVP at howardcc.edu/lectureseries or by emailing [email protected]. Information about accessing the virtual lectures will be provided closer to the event date.

About the Speaker: Dr. Michael Heffren received his B.A. from King’s College (Pennsylvania), and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. His dissertation was entitled “The Decline of Liberalism in the United States: A Class Relations Perspective.” His area of specialization was political sociology. Dr. Heffren has been teaching full time at HCC since fall 2000 and currently serves as the coordinator for political science courses.