Models of Resistance for a Democracy in Crisis features three historians who examine how political opposition, anti-racist struggle, and artistic intervention serve as vital blueprints for safeguarding our precarious democracy.
Geoff Eley deconstructs Trump-era politics by identifying a dual crisis: the withering of democratic practices and a pervasive cynicism toward government. By analyzing how Germans of the 1930s might have resisted fascism, he reveals the specific forms of opposition needed to uphold democratic accountability today.
Jamon Jordan traces a lineage of anti-racist protest, from the rebellions of the enslaved to the legal and moral defiance of the abolitionist movement. By weaving public tactics, such as demonstrations and boycotts, with the enduring labor of building Black-led institutions and preserving cultural traditions, Jordan reveals a comprehensive framework for contemporary activists.
Megan Flattley examines how artworks challenge repressive regimes. These creative interventions bear witness to traumatic and unjust conditions, use cultural institutions as cover for political action, and stage provocations in public spaces to reveal latent violence and advocate for social change. 
 

Geoff Eley is a British-born historian and Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Michigan, renowned for his influential work on modern German history, fascism, and the history of the European left.; Megan Flattley is a historian of art and visual culture, whose work examines artists and movements that challenge the distinction between art and politics.; Jamon Jordan is the inaugural official historian for the City of Detroit, an educator, and the founder of Black Scroll Network History & Tours, dedicated to researching, preserving, and sharing Detroit's rich African American history.