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The Meaning of Freedom in American Life with Eric Foner, Randall Kennedy, and Katha Pollitt

Eric Foner, Professor of History at Columbia University, moderates a panel discussion about the idea of freedom in the United States. Foner’s book on the topic, The Story of American Freedom, was released earlier in 1998. Panelists include American legal scholar Randall Kennedy and essayist and critic Katha Pollitt. Foner speaks first about the content of his book, including an anecdote about the “Freedom Train,” a promotional train tour taking important American historical documents around the country. Foner argues that the Freedom Train is a good representation of American ideas about freedom – which documents were selected, and which were omitted emulates the ultimate subjectivity of the idea of freedom in American politics and history. Randall Kennedy comments on the contents of Foner’s book and scholarship and reflects on the idea of the teacher as an instrument of freedom. Katha Pollitt comments on the contemporary right-wing use of the word “freedom” and contends that progressive groups should consider the idea of “liberation” as an essential principle. The discussion is followed with questions from the audience.

Recorded Dec 1, 1998 at 92nd Street Y, New York.

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