Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Time: 5:30pm to 7:00pm

Location: Mary Graydon Student Center, Rooms 305-306

Democrats and Republicans alike celebrate the American Dream as one of the nation's most important ideals, but they are surprisingly divided over whether Americans have equal access to it. Join Prof. Liz Suhay and AU and Washington, D.C. experts in a discussion about partisan debates surrounding economic inequality and opportunity as well as how to bridge the partisan gap to get back to policymaking that advances the well-being of lower- and middle-income Americans.

Speakers:

Liz Suhay is a Professor of Government in the School of Public Affairs at American University who specializes in public opinion and political psychology. Her book Debating the American Dream: How Explanations for Inequality Polarize Politics draws on decades of party platforms and public opinion survey data to explore the close connections between Americans' beliefs about the causes of socioeconomic inequality and party politics.

Jane Hall is Associate Professor of Journalism in the School of Communication at American University. She is the author of the new book Politics and the Media: Intersections and New Directions and, prior to joining AU, was an award-winning journalist.

Bradley Hardy is a Distinguished Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. He has authored and co-authored numerous scholarly works on economic inequality and policy, such as Stalled Progress? Five Decades of Black-White and Rural-Urban Income Gaps.

Hans Noel is Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University and Co-Director of the Georgetown Democracy Initiative. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Political Ideologies and Political Parties in America and The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform.