Course Details

In his short book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Yale historian Timothy Snyder warns against assuming that our democratic heritage automatically protects us from the threats of tyranny. He writes, “the precedent set by the Founders demands that we examine history to understand the deep sources of tyranny, and to consider the proper responses to it. Americans today are no wiser than Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism… Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so.” This study group will discuss the 20 lessons that Snyder culls from recent history to examine the threats and, more hopefully, opportunities for resistance in our current circumstances.