After the 2016 election, Seth David Radwell became concerned that political discourse in America was collapsing. He began researching previous times when the country was deeply divided, and the result was his award-winning 2021 book “American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing Our Nation.”
Radwell is the next speaker in Wofford’s new series “Defining or Dividing?: Issues in American Culture and History.” He will give a talk on the book at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, in Leonard Auditorium. Radwell will take questions from the audience after his talk.
The event is free and open to the public. Copies of “American Schism,” the 2022 winner of the International Book Award, will be available for sale and signing.
Dr. Dwain Pruitt ’95, Wofford’s chief equity officer and vice president for community initiatives, says Radwell is “passionately committed to the idea of an America in which we can talk to one another across political and social divides.”
“His talk should challenge us all to think about the type of nation we want for the United States to be in an era of heightened partisan division and distrust,” Pruitt says.
Before beginning work on “American Schism,” Radwell was CEO of The Proactiv Co., a leading skincare brand for treating acne. Prior to that, he served as president and chief revenue officer of Guthy-Renker and as president of e-Scholastic, the digital arm of the children’s publishing and education company.
Radwell earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
“I was moving along in my career and traveling in some interesting circles,” Radwell says. “But I was always interested in public policy.”
Radwell says political discourse is no longer focused on using empirical data to sway public opinion. Instead, rage and fear are the vehicles used to try to influence voters.
He will discuss what he sees as the original “American schism,” when the country’s founders had different visions for the direction of the nation, and how the divisions have evolved over the years. He’ll also talk about his “desire to defend our democracy from the grave threats it faces today.”
“I do believe our political discourse has eroded and collapsed,” Radwell says. “The open liberal society of my generation faces great peril today. Unless we can create a productive political debate and rational ways of disagreeing, my generation will not be able to bestow a democracy on the next generation.”