Author Vaneesa Cook in conversation with Michelle Nickerson at Books & Company
Date and Time
Tuesday Jun 9, 2026
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM CDT
Tuesday, June 9 at 6:30pm
Fees/Admission
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Contact Information
262-567-0106
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Description
Join us for an evening with Dr. Vaneesa Cook discussing her new book, Empire and Liberty, with Michelle Nickerson at Books & Company! Book signing to follow.
Please register for this free event.ABOUT THE BOOK:
A sweeping cultural history of two iconic landmarks that reflect the spirit, character, and values of the US—the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty—and the role they play in shaping American culture, US history, and international relations.
In Empire and Liberty: The Tied Histories of Two American Landmarks, historian Dr. Vaneesa Cook explores how the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty have served as lightning rods for debates about the irreconcilable tensions between empire and liberty that have existed since American independence, defining the contours of American identity.
The two landmarks, typically considered separately not comparatively, reflect much about the struggle of American identity. When studied in tandem, it becomes clear that they represent touchpoints for debates over ideas and ideals about who Americans are and what they want.
Empire and Liberty raises questions such as:
- How could women embrace a Statue of Liberty that was erected before they had the right to vote?
- How could African Americans believe in a nation dedicated to liberty that deliberately left them out?
- How much freedom could immigrants feel while stuck in low-wage jobs, facing discrimination and racism? How much could they appreciate the benefits of empire when they rarely reaped its fruits?
Cook illuminates how this story of two tied landmarks is essentially about the American people and their experiences—how they construed the structures as symbols of empire and liberty and how they imbued the structures with spirit and character.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Vaneesa Cook holds a doctorate in U.S. History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2015). Her first book, Spiritual Socialists: Religion and the American Left, was published in fall 2019 by the University of Pennsylvania Press. She has also published articles in the LA Review of Books, Religion & Politics, Dissent, Sojourners, The Washington Post, Aeon, Raritan, and more. She lives in Wisconsin and works as a writer, historian, and freelance editor.
ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER:
Michelle Nickerson is a Professor at Loyola University Chicago. She has published three books of history: Mothers of Conservatism: Women and the Postwar Right, Sunbelt Rising: The Politics of Place, Space, and Region, and most recently, Spiritual Criminals: How the Camden 28 Put the Vietnam War on Trial. Nickerson is also a German Fulbright Scholar and serves on the Committee of Scholars for the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.
Printed courtesy of www.oconomowoc.org/ – Contact the Oconomowoc Area Chamber of Commerce for more information.
173 East Wisconsin Avenue, Oconomowoc, WI 53066-3056 – 262-567-2666 – membership@oconomowoc.org