NYT Columnist Slated for Next President’s Lecture at UM

MISSOULA – Ross Douthat, a conservative columnist for the New York Times, will present the next installment of the President’s Lecture Series at the University of Montana.

In a return to in-person events at UM, Douthat’s lecture, “How Reaganism Became Trumpism,” will kick off at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, in the Dennison Theatre.

The lecture also will be streamed live at http://www.umt.edu/president/. Free and open to the public, the event is co-sponsored by the Project on American Democracy and Citizenship, which is managed by UM’s Mansfield Center.

Douthat has been an op-ed columnist for the New York Times since 2009, and his work appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Previously, he was senior editor at The Atlantic.

A prolific writer, Douthat has published books on the future of the Republican Party, the decline of religion in the United States, and other topics relating to politics, religion and society. His most recent book, “The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery,” was published in 2021 and details his struggles with chronic Lyme disease.

Douthat’s other books include “The Decadent Society” (2020), “To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism” (2018), “Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics” (2012), “Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class” (2005) and (with co-author Reihan Salam) “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream” (2008). He also is a film critic for National Review.

Douthat graduated from Harvard in 2002 and lives with his wife and four children in New Haven, Connecticut.

The UM President’s Lecture Series is presented as an opportunity to learn about and discuss ideas and issues that animate public discourse. Learn more about the President’s Lecture Series online. Sign-language interpretation will be provided for this event. To request another disability-related modification, call 406-243-4866 by Feb. 25.

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Contact: Office of the President, UM, 406-243-2734, thepresident@umontana.edu.