The political upheaval and uncertainty in the United States and around the world has led many historians, scholars, and citizens in general to reach for and re-read classic texts of history, sociology, political theory and even fiction to help make sense of these troubled times. This panel--the second of two entitled "Touchstone Texts"--will bring together a group of distinguished scholars, each of whom has done a deep reading of an influential books that speaks to our moment: Martha Jones on on W.E.B. DuBois’s Black Reconstruction; Gerald Early on Sinclair Lewis's It Can’t Happen Here; Sean Wilentz on Richard Hofstadter's Anti-Intellectualism in American Life; and Claire Potter on Susan Brownmiller's Against Our Will. Audience discussion will draw connections among the presentations and the texts themselves.