Reunion Lecture: Political Tribalism in America

Political Tribalism in America: Why We Hate Each Other – and What We Can Do about it.

I attended this lecture for many reasons: I was really impressed by Professor Chua’s earlier book, Day of Empire and had followed the blowback regarding her Tiger Mom book, her role in JD Vance’s life (which he honors in Hillbilly Elegy), and the controversies involving out-of-school parties, comments, clerkships, and other student interactions.

I had not kept up with her work on Political Tribes (2019) or her 2004 book on how free markets stimulate ethnic hatred, so the title of the talk was intriguing, especially given our impending election.

She didn’t disappoint.  The Law School Auditorium was filled to overflowing, and Professor Chua held everyone in rapt attention for 58 minutes, making her points powerfully and leavening them with humor, topical references and a command of details not only from the United States but from several other places on the globe.  She got a well-deserved, LONG and heartfelt standing ovation at the end.

It changed some of how I view what’s happening now in our politics, I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Isn’t that the goal of a good lecture — to make you think?

In my view, this was the best of the YAA talks.  It reminded me of the extraordinary privilege that Yale students have in being exposed to TEACHERS like that, and not just scholars who advance the corpus of knowledge through their research and writing.  Of course, we had our share of wonderful teachers, too .. Insert your favorites here! What a gift … and what a good reminder of that gift … circa 1965-69 and 2024.