February 14, 2002
Contact:
Sarah Ray
802-443-5794
sray@middlebury.edu
Posted: February 14, 2002
MIDDLEBURY,
VT -
“Integration
in Policy and Practice in Europe and the Americas” will be
the topic of the ninth annual Middlebury College Clifford
Symposium on Friday, March 1-Saturday, March 2. This
years symposium will offer panels and an open
discussion addressing the subject through the perspective of
leading scholars, policymakers, activists and journalists
from the United States, Britain and France. All conference
panels are free and open to the public, and will take place
in the Robert A. Jones House on Hillcrest Road off College
Street (Route 125). The symposium was originally scheduled
for late September 2001, but had to be postponed until this
year.
According to
Erik Bleich, Middlebury College assistant professor of
political science and organizer of the
symposium,
the
integration of immigrants and ethnic groups poses
longstanding challenges in Europe and North America.
“Tensions have crystallized in recent decades due to the
increasing ethnic pluralism of these societies and the
recognition that such pluralism is here to stay. Yet many of
the controversies have their roots in a centuries-deep
history of slavery and colonization,” said Bleich. “This
conference seeks to examine the extent of ethnic integration
and to explore the policies and practices that best overcome
the legacies of the past,” he added.
Speakers
include Middlebury College Bicentennial Scholar-in-Residence
Madeleine M. Kunin, who is also a former U.S. ambassador to
Switzerland and former governor of Vermont, and Deputy Chair
of the United Kingdom Commission for Racial Equality
Beverley Bernard.
The
symposium will kick off at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 1, with a
discussion titled “Legacies of Slavery and Colonization and
their Effects on Integration.” The talk will feature a panel
of academics, including Mickaëlla Périna of
Harvard University, Mae Ngai of the University of Chicago,
and Erik Bleich of Middlebury College.
At 10:45
a.m., there will be a panel discussion titled “Dealing with
Historical Traumas: Precedents and Perspectives.” Panelists
include Kunin, Claire Andrieu of the University of Paris I,
and John Torpey of the University of British
Columbia.
Later that
afternoon, the panel discussion “Dealing with Historical
Traumas of Slavery and Colonization in Europe and the
Americas” will begin at 2 p.m. Speakers will reflect on
the
effectiveness
of ignoring the past versus public admissions of guilt by
politicians or monetary compensation. Panelists will include
Maurice Stevens of Ohio State University, Michel Giraud of
the University of the Antilles-Guiana, and Harry Goulbourne
of South Bank University in London.
At 3:30 p.m.
a panel discussion titled the “National Practices of
Integration” will address the three countries varying
policies and approaches toward immigrants and minorities.
The panel will feature Fred Constant of the University of
the Antilles-Guiana; Krishna Sarda, chief executive of the
Ethnic Minority Foundation in the United Kingdom; and Susan
Martin, director of the Institute for the Study of
International Migration at Georgetown University.
The final
talk of the day, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., will be “Anti-Racism
Policies: Fighting Legacies of Domination.” This panel will
examine several issues, including the effectiveness of the
legal system and policies such as affirmative action. The
event will feature panelists Beverley Bernard, deputy chair
of the U.K. Commission for Racial Equality; William Spriggs,
director of the National Urban Leagues Institute of
Opportunity and Equality; and Philippe Bernard of the French
newspaper Le Monde.
The
symposium will continue Saturday, March 2, beginning at 1:30
p.m. Presenters will reflect on related topics not yet
covered by previous speakers in a discussion titled
“Managing the Social, Economic and Political Problems of
Integration.” The panelists, who will represent the United
States, France and Britain, will be Dalton Conley of New
York University, Nacira Guénif of the University of
Paris XIII, and Shamit Saggar of Queen Mary and Westfield
College-University of London and the U.K. Cabinet
Office.
At 3:15
p.m., the discussion will broaden with the topic “Better
Practices at the Local Level”a panel designed
specifically to highlight integration issues that escape the
national medias attention. Featured speakers will be
Ann Morse of the State and Local Coalition on Immigration, a
division of the National Conference on State Legislatures;
Romain Garbaye, a Jean Monnet Fellow of the European
University Institute; and Michael Jones-Correa of Cornell
University.
The final
event of the conference will take place at 5 p.m.
“Roundtable Discussion: Rethinking the Challenges of
Integration” will draw out the speakers and
audiences
conclusions
regarding the conferences key topics, particularly
what policies are likely to be most successful at promoting
integration. Patrick Weil of the National Center for
Scientific Research (CNRS) and University of Paris
I-Sorbonne will serve as moderator.
The Nicholas
R. Clifford Symposium was established by the Middlebury
College board of trustees in1993 to honor the distinguished
career of Nicholas R. Clifford, Middlebury College professor
emeritus of history. He was a member of the Middlebury
College history department from 1966 through 1993, and
served as vice president for academic affairs on three
occasions, from 1979-1985, in 1989 and from 1991-1993.
Clifford is a former trustee, and was a co-chair of the
Colleges Bicentennial celebration
committee.
For more
information, contact Carolann Davis of the Middlebury
College Center for International Affairs at
802-443-2319.
Events Calendar
Listings
“Integration
in Policy and Practice in Europe and the
Americas”
Nicholas
R. Clifford Symposium
Middlebury
College
Friday,
March 1-Saturday, March 2
Friday,
March 1
9-10:30
a.m., Panel Discussion: “Legacies of Slavery and
Colonization and their Effects on Integration”
Panelists
include Mickaëlla Périna of Harvard University,
Mae Ngai of the University of Chicago, and Erik Bleich of
Middlebury College
10:45
a.m.-12:15 p.m., Panel Discussion: “Dealing with
Historical Traumas: Precedents and Perspectives”
Panelists
include John Torpey of the University of British Columbia,
Claire Andrieu of the University of Paris I, and Madeleine
Kunin, Middlebury College Bicentennial scholar-in-residence,
former ambassador to Switzerland, and former governor of
Vermont
2-3:30
p.m., Panel Discussion: “Dealing with Historical Traumas
of Slavery and Colonization in Europe and the
Americas”
Panelists
include Maurice Stevens of Ohio State University, Michel
Giraud of the University of Antilles-Guiana, and Harry
Goulbourne of South Bank University in London
3:30-5
p.m., Panel Discussion: “National Practices of
Integration”
Panelists
include Fred Constant of the University of Antilles-Guiana;
Krishna Sarda, chief executive of the United Kingdoms
Ethnic Minority Foundation; and Susan Martin, director of
the Institute for the Study of International Migration at
Georgetown University
5:30-7
p.m., Panel Discussion: “Anti-Racism Policies: Fighting
Legacies of Domination”
Panelists
include
Beverley
Bernard, deputy chair of the United Kingdom Commission for
Racial Equality; William Spriggs, director of the National
Urban Leagues Institute of Opportunity and Equality;
and Philippe Bernard of the French newspaper Le
Monde.
Saturday,
March 2
1:30-3
p.m., Panel Discussion: “Managing the Social, Economic
and Political Problems of Integration”
Panelists
include Dalton Conley of New York University, Nacira
Guénif of the University of Paris XIII, and Shamit
Saggar of Queen Mary and Westfield College-University of
London
3:15-4:45
p.m., Panel Discussion: “Better Practices at the Local
Level”
Panelists
include Ann Morse of the State and Local Coalition on
Immigration, a division of the National Conference on State
Legislatures; Michael Jones-Correa of Cornell University;
Romain Garbaye, a Jean Monnet Fellow of the European
University Institute
5-7 p.m.,
Open Discussion: “Roundtable Discussion: Rethinking the
Challenges of Integration”
Moderator:
Patrick Weil of the National Center for Scientific Research
(CNRS) and the University of Paris I-Sorbonne
All events
are free and open to the public, and will take place in the
Robert A. Jones House on Hillcrest Road off College Street
(Route 125). Admission is free. For more information,
contact Carolann Davis of the Middlebury College Center for
International Affairs at 802-443-2319.