Author Tamara Metz will present “Untying the Knot: Marriage, the State and the Case for Their Divorce,” on Monday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. in the Austin Reading Room of Nicholson Library at Linfield College.
Metz, who is the author of a book by the same title, will focus on the topic of marriage, which is currently the focus of a political debate. She will discuss whether the state should have the ability to determine the laws of marriage and will argue that marriage, like religion, should be separated from the state.
Metz concludes that the questions surrounding marriage should be answered by those best suited to give it the necessary ethical authority, religious groups and other kinds of communities.
Metz’s book identifies and explains assumptions hidden in widely held positions and common practices. According to Metz, as long as marriage and the state are linked, marriage will be a threat to liberalism and the state will be a threat to marriage. Keeping the state and marriage separate is justified by the basic commitments to freedom and equality.
Metz is an assistant professor of political science and humanities at Reed College. She earned a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University in 2004. Her fields of interest include political theory and law, liberalism and its critics, history of political thought and theories of freedom.
The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Department of Political Science. For more information, contact Nicholas Buccola , assistant professor, 503-883-2246.
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