The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosted "Comparative Civics: Beyond Western Civ" with Dongxian Jiang, Shadi Bartsch, Simon Sihang Luo, and Peter Levine on December 10, 2025, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. PT.

There is broad agreement that effective citizenship requires a firm understanding of the history and principles of the American constitutional system. But what about the insights, lessons, and perspectives that can be drawn from foreign contexts? How might the study of other societies–including those with autocratic systems or markedly different cultural traditions–enhance one’s preparation for effective American citizenship? This webinar explores what global perspectives can teach us about citizenship and democracy at home.

Dongxian Jiang: Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies, Department of Languages and Cultures, Fordham University.

Shadi Bartsch: Helen A Regenstein Professor of Classics; Director Emerita, Institute on the Formation of Knowledge, University of Chicago

Simon Sihang Luo: Nanyang Assistant Professor, Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Peter Levine: Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Service, Tufts University; Executive Committee Members, Alliance for Civics in the Academy

The Hoover Applied History Working Group hosted a special book-launch seminar: Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump on Tuesday, December 2, 2025.

What happens when Americans lose faith in their religious institutions—and politicians fill the void? Please join us for a seminar that will discuss the forces that create leaders and hold their followers captive.

Everyone feels it. Cultural and political life in America has become unrecognizable and strange. Firebrands and would-be sages have taken the place of reasonable and responsible leaders. Nuanced debates have given way to the smug confidence of yard signs. How did we get here?

In Spellbound, Worthen argues that we will understand our present moment if we learn the story of charisma in America. From the Puritans and Andrew Jackson to Black nationalists and Donald Trump, the saga of American charisma stars figures who possess a dangerous and alluring power to move crowds. They invite followers into a cosmic drama that fulfills hopes and rectifies grievances—and these charismatic leaders insist that they alone plot the way.

The story of charisma in America reveals that when traditional religious institutions fail to deliver on their promise of a meaningful life, people will get their spiritual needs met in a warped cultural and political landscape dominated by those who appear to have the power to bring order and meaning out of chaos. Charismatic leaders address spiritual needs, offering an alternate reality where people have knowledge, power, and heroic status, whether as divinely chosen instruments of God or those who will restore national glory.

Worthen’s centuries-spanning historical research places a crucial religious lens on the cultural, economic, and political upheavals facing Americans today.

After the Hoover Applied History Working Group book-launch seminar on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, Hoover Institution fellow Niall Ferguson interviewed Molly Worthen the author of Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump.

Watch the full book-launch seminar here: https://youtu.be/bXkccTi7ZDE