Tufts University will present well-known scholar, philosopher, musician and civil-rights activist Dr. Cornel West as part of the Tufts Faculty Progressive Caucus American Democracy in Crisis Series.

West will share his perspective on the coming presidential election on Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus. Free tickets will be offered to members of the Tufts community beginning Feb. 6 at the Mayer Campus Center Information Booth.

West focuses much of his work on the role of race, gender and class in American society. He is the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard in three years and his master’s and doctorate from Princeton. He has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Harvard, Yale and the University of Paris.

A prolific author, West has written 20 books and edited 13 books. Some of his most well-known works include Race Matters, Democracy Matters and his memoir Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.  He is the co-author of the forthcoming book The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto, focused on economic injustice in America. He has appeared in over 25 documentaries and films and on numerous television and news shows, including the Bill Maher Show, Colbert Report, CNN and C-Span. He is also the co-host of the popular radio show “Smiley & West” on PRI.

Dr. West’s talk, which is part of the Faculty Progressive Caucus’s American Democracy in Crisis Series, is sponsored by the Tufts Diversity Fund, the Peace and Justice Studies program, the Africana Center, the Office of Intercultural and Social Identities Programs, and the offices of Student Affairs and Campus Life.

Tufts University, located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville, and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States. Tufts enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence and for the preparation of students as leaders in a wide range of professions. A growing number of innovative teaching and research initiatives span all campuses, and collaboration among the faculty and students in the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across the university is widely encouraged.