Dictators and Democracy: How Strongmen Rise and Democracy Disappears

Dictators and Democracy: How Strongmen Rise and Democracy Disappears

When:

Oct 8, 2020 3:00 PM -
Oct 8, 2020 4:00 PM

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Nearly one hundred years ago, Benito Mussolini turned a democratic republic into a one-party Fascist state. He didn’t come to power at the head of an army. Or by starting a revolution. He was elected and was able to quickly seize power in Italy and create a template later used by Hitler.

This webinar will investigate the rise of five of the most ruthless dictators in modern history— Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Saddam Hussein. We will discuss the current rising peril to democracy around the world. And we will highlight the important connection between studying history and protecting democracy during what is clearly a crisis in civic engagement in America.

Author Kenneth C. Davis will make the case that democracy does not always die in darkness. Rather it is often killed off in broad daylight, with crowds cheering as the dangerous creep of authoritarianism takes place and freedoms are erased.

Questions from event participants are encouraged.

Presenter

author photo credit: Nina Subin

Kenneth C. Davis

Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times–bestselling author of Don’t Know Much About® History, which gave rise to the “Don’t Know Much About®” series of books, and America’s Hidden HistoryIn the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents and Five Black Lives earned him a Notable Book of the American Library Association in 2017. His most recent book, More Deadly Than War about the 1918 Spanish flu was also named a Notable Trade Book for Young People by the Children’s Book Council and National Council for the Social Studies. His forthcoming book, Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy, will be published on October 6,2020. He lives in New York City and can be found on Twitter @kennethcdavis and at his website, dontknowmuch.com.

Moderator

Stefanie Wager

NCSS President 2020-2021

Stefanie is the Social Studies Consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. In this role, she provides leadership and guidance at the state level for social studies education. Prior to this, she taught high school social studies for Des Moines Public Schools and Dallas Center-Grimes Schools and worked at Instituto Thomas Jefferson in Naucalpan, Mexico. In addition, she formerly served as the coordinator of a Teaching American History Grant. She received both a Bachelors and Masters degree from Drake University in Des Moines, IA. Stefanie has been involved in the Iowa Council for the Social Studies since 2010, first serving as co-chair for the Annual Conference, then Vice-President, and now President. She is also currently serving on the National Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors. In that capacity Stefanie has worked on the Strategic Plan Committee, Executive Director Search Committee and the Associated Group Ad-Hoc Committee, among others. She is also a member of CS4. In 2011, Stefanie was named an Emerging Leader in Education by ASCD. Stefanie lives in Grimes, IA with her husband Jake, who is also a social studies teacher, and their two children, Lincoln and Grace.