Creative Manchester and the American Studies Department of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures are delighted to welcome Michèle Lamont, Leverhulme Visiting Professor, for an in-conversation event with Gary Younge, award-winning journalist and Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester.
During this event Professors Michèle Lamont and Gary Younge will discuss politics and cultural change in the US and the UK in the context of Trump’s second presidency. Their focus will be on the politics of recognition and multiculturalism in a period of political backlash, with a special focus on the working class and race.
We are delighted that Professor Maggie Gale, Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Humanities, will be delivering the welcome address for this event.
We are thrilled to welcome Michèle Lamont, Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies and the Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies at Harvard University, to the University of Manchester. Hosted by Professor Andrew Miles and the Sociology Department, she is joining the University as part of her Leverhulme Visiting Professorship and will be researching her new book project, which will analyse recognition claims across different contexts and help us better understand how to move toward a more inclusive society.
The event will begin promptly at 3pm, with doors open from 2.45pm, so please arrive well in time to find a seat for a timely start.
The event will include an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and will be followed by a drinks reception in The Mill (ground floor of AMBS) until 5.30pm.
Who is this event for?
This event is of interest to those interested in US and UK politics, cultural sociology and the intersection of class and race. Whether you’re a member of staff, a student or a member of the general public, you are invited and welcome to join us for this special event.
Accessibility
We want to make the event a positive experience for all participants. If you have particular access needs, please let us know in advance by providing details of any accessibility needs when registering for your ticket or by emailing us at creative@manchester.ac.uk.
About the speakers
Michèle Lamont is Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies and the Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies at Harvard University. A cultural sociologist who studies morality, group boundaries, and inequality, she has tackled topics such as dignity, respect, stigma, racism, and how we evaluate social worth across societies in several books, including Money, Morals and Manners, The Dignity of Working Men, How Professors Think, Getting Respect: Responding to Stigma and Discrimination in the US, Brazil and Israel (coauthored), and Seeing Others: How to Redefine Worth in a Divided World. The recipient of various awards including the 2017 Erasmus Prize and the 2024 Kohli Prize for Sociology, she has served as President of the American Sociological Association and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the British Academy, and the Royal Society of Canada. Michèle is currently at work on a book tentatively titled “Recognition Globally.”
Gary Younge is an award-winning author, broadcaster and a Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester. Formerly a columnist at The Guardian he is also an editorial board member of The Nation magazine and winner of both the 2025 Robert. B. Silvers prize for journalism and the 2023 Orwell Prize for Journalism. He has written six books, most recently, Dispatches From the Diaspora, From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter. He has also written for The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, Granta, GQ, The Financial Times and The New Statesman and made several radio and television documentaries on subjects ranging from gay marriage to Brexit.
Photo credit:
Professor Michèle Lamont by Nina Subin
