Half Hour of Heterodoxy

Show Notes Frank Lechner is a professor of sociology at Emory University. He did his undergraduate work in sociology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and then moved to the U.S. for his PhD. He’s the author of four books and two edited volumes—his most recent book is The American Exception, a book about American exceptionalism that covers several aspects of American life including religion, law, sports, and media. I invited him to the show in part to have a dialogue about a piece I published about asymmetric polarization. We also discussed a first-year seminar on conservatism that Frank taught in 2016. To my knowledge, that’s the first seminar of its kind at Emory. Selected Quote I appreciate your comment about my “nonpartisan” teaching because in my day to day life, I try to depoliticize the work that I do. I don’t put my own views forward in a very strong manner. I prefer to create a space in which students can analyze arguments and evidence as honestly and as seriously as possible and to provide th