Author and professor Keith J. Bybee will present the lecture “Is Civility Dead?”— an exploration into the “crisis” of civility in America — at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Cazenovia Public Library community room.
Many Americans believe that contemporary public life is rife with conflict and insult. However, concerns about incivility are hardly limited to the current day. Given the long history of rudeness in the United States, is civility even possible? And if it is possible, is civility desirable? Why not just celebrate free speech and tell people they need to develop a thicker skin?
Bybee is vice dean and Paul E. and Hon. Joanne F. Alper ’72 Judiciary Studies Professor at the Syracuse University College of Law. Bybee holds tenured appointments in the College of Law and in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He also directs the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media (IJPM), a collaborative effort between the College of Law, the Maxwell School, and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Bybee’s research interests include the judicial process, legal theory, political philosophy, LGBT politics, the politics of race and ethnicity, American politics, constitutional law, codes of public conduct, and the media. His current research examines civility, free speech and fake news.
He is the author of several books, including his most recent work, “How Civility Works” (2016).
All events at the Cazenovia Public Library are free and open to the public.
For more information, call 315-655-9322 or visit cazenoviapubliclibrary.org.
