Professor Sarah Rushing - Re-Radicalizing Empowerment Within Neoliberal Institutions

Sarah Rushing, Professor at the Montana State University, spoke at Amherst College on the topic of neoliberalism and the ways in which people in the modern era must navigate institutions of life and death in American society. Rushing's latest work in progress is a book entitled "Comparative Humilities: Ethics, Empowerment, and Sites of Political Awakening." While she focused on the politics of life and death in her talk, she also spoke about the college campus and how it fits into her main thematic questions regarding autonomy within neoliberal institutions. After earning her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1996, Rushing was encouraged by her college adviser to apply to PhD programs. She ended up attending the University of California in Berkeley, where she majored in Political Theory. Since then, she has published several articles concerned with the theories of Judith Butler and her most recent areas of interest--humility and autonomy. Now at Montana State University, she teaches Political Science and serves as an advocate for student organizations trying to promote diversity and equity on campus. This lecture was recorded on February 17, 2016 in the Pruyne Lecture Hall at Amherst College.