Political Science

Come “visit the Wall”, a student-and-faculty-built replica of the Berlin Wall which went down 30 years ago! Reflect upon the historical and general meaning of the Wall, bring a pen and leave your thoughts in writing or drawing, engage with it in any productive way you like. And join us for a collective “Tearing down the Wall” event on Saturday, November 9th, in the evening. Once the Wall is gone, let’s celebrate inside of Atwater!!!

A lecture by Jean M. Yarbrough, Gary M. Pendy Professor of Social Sciences, Bowdoin College

Yarbrough argues that TR’s early historical studies—inspired by Darwinian biology and Hegelian political thought—treated westward expansion from an evolutionary and developmental perspective that placed race and conquest at the center of the narrative, while relegating individual rights and consent of the governed to the sidelines.

SOAN 211 Human Ecology & PSCI 452 Global Environmental Justice poster session!

A Hamilton Forum Dialogue

Rana Abdelhamid ’15, an internationally recognized human rights advocate with a black belt in Karate, returns to Middlebury where she earned her bachelor’s degree in international politics and economics. She then earned a master’s degree in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School public. Currently Abdelhamid works for Google’s central brand team for Google Cloud. While a student, she founded the nonprofit Malikah, which is aimed at supporting women’s empowerment through self-defense, entrepreneurship, and organized trainings.

Vermont Senate President Tim Ashe will be visiting Middlebury to discuss prevalent political issues with students in a town hall-style meeting. Students of all political affiliations are welcome and encouraged to join!

Our ability to effectively respond to forced migration flows in the 21st century is hampered by legal and regulatory regimes that reflect neither the reality of modern displacement nor the moral and social imperatives of our age. Looking at Syrian refugees in Jordan as well as the forthcoming issue of the climate displaced, Peter Stavros will discuss how current regimes serve hardly any party’s interests in the ongoing debate over how to address forced migration.

Many Americans are of two minds on the issue of affirmative action in college admissions. On the one hand, they recognize that the United States has an egregious history of racial discrimination that needs to be addressed. They also believe that all students learn more—and society benefits—when colleges bring together people of diverse backgrounds. On the other hand, many Americans are uncomfortable with the idea that the racial box an applicant checks has a large impact on his or her chances of admission.