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Emmanuel College welcomed journalist and author Colin Woodard, MA, FRGS, to campus as the featured speaker for the Annual Catherine McLaughlin Hakim ’70 Lecture, continuing a long-standing tradition of bringing leading voices to campus to examine the forces shaping society.
Established in 2011, the lecture honors Catherine McLaughlin Hakim ’70 and reflects her deep connection to Emmanuel and her studies in sociology. The series was endowed by her husband, Dr. Raymond Hakim, who joined members of the Emmanuel community for this year’s event.
In opening remarks, President Beth Ross highlighted the lecture series as central to Emmanuel’s role as a space for meaningful dialogue. Dr. Hakim followed with a personal reflection on his late wife’s love for the College and her commitment to her education, noting that the series remains a tribute to her legacy and intellectual curiosity.
Introducing Woodard, Professor of Sociology Dr. Catherine Bueker emphasized the lecture’s purpose: to engage students with ideas that speak directly to contemporary challenges. This year’s focus—on the state of American democracy—reflects what she described as one of the most pressing social issues of our time.
A Nation of Many “Nations”
Woodard, a New York Times bestselling author and director of Nationhood Lab at Salve Regina University, framed his talk around a central idea: that the United States is not a single, unified culture, but a collection of distinct regional identities shaped over centuries.
“The United States is not a nation-state—and it never has been,” he said. “It is a federation of regional cultures that have long disagreed on fundamental questions about government, freedom, and society.”
Tracing these divisions back to early settlement patterns, Woodard described how different groups brought distinct political and cultural traditions to North America—traditions that continue to influence American life today. These differences, he argued, are not just historical—they remain visible in measurable ways across the country.
Woodard pointed to stark regional contrasts in public health outcomes, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some regions, resistance to public health measures contributed to significantly higher death rates. In one comparison, parts of the Deep South experienced more than twice the COVID-19 death rate of regions on the West Coast.
Similar patterns, he noted, appear across other indicators. His research has found population-level differences of three to five years in life expectancy between major regions of the country—a gap comparable to differences between entire nations. “These differences are durable,” Woodard said. “They’ve been with us for centuries, and they continue to shape how Americans experience the same challenges in very different ways.”
At the heart of these divides, he argued, is a longstanding tension between two competing ideas: individual liberty and the common good.
“A healthy democracy requires a balance between those two forces,” Woodard said. “But Americans have never agreed on where that balance should lie—or whether it should exist at all.”
Democracy and a Shared Story
While much of Woodard’s lecture examined division, he also pointed to areas of broad agreement—particularly around the country’s founding ideals.
Unlike many nations, he noted, the United States was not built on a shared ethnicity, religion, or origin story. Instead, its unity has depended on a shared set of principles rooted in the Declaration of Independence.
Citing recent research, Woodard noted that more than 90 percent of Americans agree that those founding ideals should be preserved, even amid deep political and cultural differences.
“That tells us something important,” he said. “There is still a foundation to build on.”
At the same time, he emphasized that those ideals have always been contested, shaped by competing visions of who belongs and what those principles mean in practice.
“The struggle over those ideas is not new,” Woodard said. “It is a central, recurring feature of the American experience.”
Audience Questions Highlight Urgency—and Possibility
During the Q&A session, students and faculty engaged Woodard on the implications of his argument, raising questions about polarization, civic responsibility, and the future of democratic institutions.
Asked how individuals can respond to divisions that feel deeply entrenched, Woodard acknowledged the scale of the challenge but emphasized the importance of civic participation.
“Democracy is not self-sustaining,” he said. “It depends on participation, on institutions, and on a shared commitment to the rules of the system.”
Other questions focused on whether a shared sense of national purpose can be rebuilt. Woodard returned to the idea of a common narrative—one grounded in democratic ideals and inclusive of the country’s diversity.
“We need a story that explains who we are together,” he said, “and why that project is worth sustaining.”
Questioned about the role of younger generations in shaping that future, Woodard encouraged students to see themselves as active participants in an ongoing civic project.
“This is still a relatively young experiment,” he said. “And every generation has a role in deciding what it becomes.”
As this year’s discussion made clear, the challenges facing American democracy are deeply rooted. But so, too, are the shared ideals that continue to shape its future.