121st APSA Presidential Address: Taeku Lee, Harvard University, APSA President
Epistemic Institutions and the Populism Dilemma: Reimagining Political Science as a Vocation during Democratic Breakdown
Thursday, September 11 | 6:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.
Dr. Taeku Lee is Bae Family Professor of Government and Faculty Dean of Dunster House at Harvard University. Lee’s teaching and research interests are in racial and ethnic politics, public opinion and political behavior, identity and inequality, and deliberative and participatory democracy. He recently published Race and Inequality in America (Cambridge, 2025, with Zoltan Hajnal and Vincent Hutchings) and his next book, Billionaire Backlash (with Pepper Culpepper) is due in early 2026 with Bloomsbury.
2025 Plenary Panel: Democracy in a Reparative Key
Friday, September 12 | 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
This year’s plenary will feature Wendy Brown, UPS Foundation Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study and Class of 1936 Professor Emeritus of Political Science at UC Berkeley.
Breaking News Panel: Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System?
Thursday, September 11 | 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
This session marks the 75th anniversary of APSA’s report on the responsible two-party system and explores the state of parties and democratic politics today.
Breaking News Panel: Contesting the University
Saturday, September 13 | 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Recent U.S. government attempts to influence or restrict the activities of American universities reflect political concerns over evolving cultural and ideological debates. This panel will examine the political ramifications of these efforts and their impact on academic freedom and inclusion in higher education.
