Making the World Over: Confronting Racism, Misogyny, and Xenophobia in US History

Political polarization and unrest are not exclusive to our era, but in the twenty-first century, we are living with seemingly unresolvable disagreements that threaten to tear our country apart. Discrimination, racism, tyranny, religious fundamentalism, political schisms, misogyny, "fake news," border walls, the #MeToo moment, foreign intervention in our electoral process―these cultural and social rifts charge our world, and we have failed to find a path toward agreement or unity.

Making the World Over is Marie Griffith’s thoughtful response to an imperiled nation that has forgotten how to listen and debate productively, at a time when it needs vigorous discourse more than ever. Griffith performs the urgent work of examining the histories behind the issues at the root of our country’s conflicts both past and present, from race and immigration to misogyny and reproductive rights. This is more than a study of the issues; it is an attempt to shed real light on how to encourage constructive dialogue and move society forward.

R. Marie Griffith is John C. Danforth Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis and author of Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics.