Making Sense of Progress and its Discontents: A Symposium on Jeffrey Alexander’s new book, Frontlash/Backlash (Polity, 2025)

This symposium on Prof. Jeffrey Alexander’s new book, Frontlash/Backlash (Polity, 2025), will explore why movements for democratic inclusion so often provoke backlash and fuel political polarization.

Join us for a symposium on Frontlash/Backlash (Polity, 2025), a major new book by leading social theorist Professor Jeffrey Alexander that develops a new theory for understanding democratic progress and the backlash movements it so often provokes. The event will be chaired by Eric Taylor Woods (Leeds), with interventions from Lone Sorensen (Leeds), Matthias Revers (Leeds), and Maria Rovisco (Leeds), and will conclude with a response from Jeffrey Alexander. A reception will take place afterwards.

The event is hosted by the School of Media and Communication, with support from the Bauman Institute at University of Leeds.

Book your place

This event is free to attend, but please book your place via emailing mediaresearchsupport@leeds.ac.uk as places are limited.