Symposium on the Hopes and Dangers of Theopolitical Visions
Hosted by Dr. D. Stephen Long, Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics at SMU
Join Dr. D. Stephen Long for two lectures exploring the intersections of politics, religion, morality, and contemporary society.
The MAGA New Right: Meaning and Morality in Politics
Featuring Laura Field
Thursday, November 5, 2026 | 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Prothro Great Hall, SMU
In Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right, political theorist Laura K. Field explores the intellectual movement behind the rise of Trumpism and the thinkers shaping its future. But the book leaves readers with an important question: What comes next? Join Dr. Field as she examines where the New Right is headed and what its growing influence could mean for American democracy.
About the Speaker
Laura K. Field is a Scholar in Residence at the Niskanen Center in Washington, D.C., and an expert on American far-right illiberal intellectualism. Her research focuses on political culture and has appeared in the Journal of Politics, The Review of Politics, and Polity, while her writing has been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Politico, and other major publications. Her book, Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right, was named a Financial Times Best Book of 2025 and received the Best Book Award from the American Political Thought Section of the American Political Science Association. Field earned her Ph.D. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin and has held academic positions at Rhodes College, Georgetown University, and American University. She is also affiliated with George Washington University and the Brookings Institution.
This lecture is open to SMU faculty, staff, students, and the DFW community.
Against Sovereignty: Foucault, Agamben, Weheliye
Featuring Amy Hollywood
Friday, November 6, 2026 | 1:00 p.m.
Kirby Hall Commons, SMU
In a world marked by uncertainty, where do we turn for new ways of understanding ourselves and one another? Harvard Divinity School professor Amy Hollywood explores how religion, literature, and imagination can help us question familiar assumptions and envision different possibilities for our lives and communities.
About the Speaker
Amy Hollywood is a professor at Harvard Divinity School whose scholarship explores the intersections of religion, literature, philosophy, and feminist and gender studies. She is the author of several books, including The Soul as Virgin Wife: Mechthild of Magdeburg, Marguerite Porete, and Meister Eckhart, which received the Otto Grundler Prize for outstanding scholarship in medieval studies; Sensible Ecstasy: Mysticism, Sexual Difference, and the Demands of History; and Acute Melancholia and Other Essays. She has also co-edited The Cambridge Companion to Christian Mysticism and co-authored Devotion: Three Inquiries on Religion, Literature, and Political Imagination. Her ongoing research examines the relationships among religious thought, literary expression, and political imagination.
Due to the SMU vs. Virginia Tech football game, all faculty and staff must register their attendance to receive a temporary parking pass. Please email Lindsey Johnson Edwards (ljohnsonedwards@smu.edu) to request your temporary parking pass.