Announcing the 2021 Lecture Series Presented by John Jay Homestead

Seats of Power come in many forms – a place on a Court, a throne, an elected office with or without popular support – and the occupants of those seats can wield their power in ways that are subtle, strategic, blatant, or in between. In this year with power plays happening all around us, we are delighted to bring you three examples by exciting writers that we hope will offer some perspective, and maybe even some entertainment.

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Joan Biskupic,

January 14

The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts

Drawing on a twenty-year acquaintanceship and more than 20 hours of in-person interviews, Joan Biskupic has written a wide-ranging and insightful biography of John Roberts, now Chief Justice of the United States. She discusses his personal life, his career, his views on the roles of judges and Justices, and his stated and implied approach to interpretation of the Constitution. As a journalist Biskupic has covered the US Supreme Court since 1989, currently for CNN; and has won numerous awards and citations, including the 1991 Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting on Congress for her coverage of the Clarence Thomas hearings. She is also author of biographies of Justices O’Connor, Scalia and Sotomayor.

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 James S. Shapiro,

February 9 

Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us About Our Past and Future

Shapiro chooses eight moments in American history when Americans claimed (or conscripted) Shakespeare as an authority in the political and culture struggles of the time, ranging from race, to immigration, to international politics, to class warfare, to assassination and sex. Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, member of the board of directors of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Scholar-in-Residence at the Public Theater in New York, he was consultant to the 2017 Public Theater production of Julius Caesar in Central Park, and the 2020 Free Shakespeare on the Radio podcast of Richard II. Shakespeare in a Divided America was just named one of the New York Times Ten Best Fiction and Non-fiction Titles of 2020.

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 Brenda Wineapple,

March 16

The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation

Pro-Union Democrat and the only senator from a Confederate state not to resign at his state's secession, Lincoln’s running mate on the National Union ticket and an “accidental President” after Lincoln’s assassination, impeached but not convicted, Andrew Johnson became a vivid example of a defiant, erratic and highly unpopular President deeply at odds with his Congress through a period of disruptive social and political change. Wineapple is an award-winning essayist, academic and critic, currently teaching at Columbia University and the New School in New York City. Author also of biographies of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Janet Flanner, and Gertrude and Leo Stein, she was previously the Director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at The Graduate School, CUNY, and its Writer-in-Residence.

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Registration is free and required.

This series will be in webinar format on Zoom.

Each lecture will being promptly at 7:00pm.

A Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees the day before the lecture.