Liberal democracy has long been taken for granted and is now in crisis as citizens distance themselves from politics, says Université de Montréal history professor Till Van Rahden.

He notes that parties are losing members and votes, while Twitter and Instagram are crowding out public debates and civility. He will discuss what this means for our society in a free public lecture, entitled “Democracy: A Fragile Way of Life,” in the SoCA Armouries Performance Hall at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Dr. Van Rahden challenges the sense of despair that informs recent conversations and suggests that instead of obsessing about how democracies die, it might prove more useful to explore what keeps them alive.

The event is presented by the Humanities Research Group. Learn more on its website.