Students Discuss Citizenship and Economics with Political Scientist

Northfield Mount Hermon students continued their exploration of this year’s learning theme — citizenship and the interplay of freedom, power, and justice — when the community welcomed political science professor and researcher Dean Robinson to a special all-school meeting on Oct. 21.

Robinson, chair of the political science department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, delivered a lecture titled “Freedom and Equality on Contested Terrain” about the ideas and history of economic freedom, followed by a student question-and-answer session.

“Economic freedom,” Robinson said, “is not just about freedom from constraint — that you have volition and will to do what you want to do — but the notion that suggests that you need a guarantee of basic resources that will underpin your ability to do OK.”

Before diving deeper, Robinson showed clips from the 1989 film “Glory,” which tells the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, one of the first all-Black units to serve in the U.S. Army.

By highlighting that legacy, Robinson said he hoped to illustrate the power of taking a political stand in the face of adversity.

“It was soldiers like those enlisted in the 54th that ended up converting the meaning of the Civil War to not just the preservation of the Union, but a war about emancipation,” Robinson said. “What gives meaning to the concepts and the terms of the principles we deploy is determined through political struggle and contestation.”

He challenged students to consider how their generation will define freedom and how they will engage with those ideas in the public sphere.

“Answering that question really depends on how the struggle unfolds,” Robinson said. “I think the final lesson of the Massachusetts 54th is that wherever you come down on this question, you have to advance on your principles, despite your fears, anxieties, and the real or imagined threats that you might face.”

In his talk, Robinson touched on key moments in U.S. history, including Franklin Roosevelt’s “economic bill of rights,” which reflected “the prevailing view among people that if you didn't guarantee a job that paid a proper remunerative wage, if you didn't guarantee healthcare or housing, then your commitment to freedom is hollow,” and the central role labor rights played in the Civil Rights Movement. 

“For the arc of history over the 20th century, if you look at campaigns against racial inequality, it also had this component of economic rights, housing, healthcare, and the ability to form a union,” he said.

Using data from his own research, Robinson highlighted the link between social health indicators — such as infant mortality, mental health, and education — and economic inequality.

“When economic inequality grows, there are all sorts of unintended consequences,” he said. “The degree to which we consider the importance of providing basic resources as a precondition of the meaningful engagement of citizens in this country is very much predicated on political struggles in that arena.”

After his talk, Robinson fielded questions from students about current economic issues, political polarization, and how to hold conversations on divisive topics.

“I really liked his approach to politics and economic policy in general,” Eben Lewis ’27 said after the talk. “I’m a bit of a Marxist school of thought that economics is a determining factor in politics and the human experience, so I thought it was really interesting to hear from someone who's very qualified to speak on those matters offer some perspective.”

“I thought it was amazing,” said Sopi Koko ’26. She was particularly intrigued by Robinson’s research on health policies and their impact on minority populations.

“I'm really interested in that intersection between science and social justice, and I'm planning on minoring in public health or sociology [in college],” Koko said. “There's so much humanity that can go with science and healthcare, so many intersections. I think exploring those and making a conscious effort to put humanities and equity and inclusion in every discipline is of the utmost importance.”