Political Science

Students and the public are invited to attend this weekly discussion of recent political events, hosted by Professor Matt Dickinson. Held almost every Tuesday from 12:30 - 1:20 in RAJ CON. Check the calendar for dates. Bagels provided – bring your own lunch. No expertise assumed. All viewpoints welcome.

Students and the public are invited to attend this weekly discussion of recent political events, hosted by Professor Matt Dickinson. Held almost every Tuesday from 12:30 - 1:20 in RAJ CON. Check the calendar for dates. Bagels provided – bring your own lunch. No expertise assumed. All viewpoints welcome.

Students and the public are invited to attend this weekly discussion of recent political events, hosted by Professor Matt Dickinson. Held almost every Tuesday from 12:30 - 1:20 in RAJ CON. Check the calendar for dates. Bagels provided – bring your own lunch. No expertise assumed. All viewpoints welcome.

How have Syrians lived the uprising and war transforming their country? What can their personal stories teach us about both tragedy and resilience? Wendy Pearlman, the Martin and Patricia Koldyke Outstanding Teaching Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern and a core faculty member of the MENA Program, will explore these questions in this presentation of her acclaimed new book, We Crossed a Bridge and it Trembled: Voices from Syria.

This will consist of a series of videos on global environmental problems, designed, researched, and directed by the Fall 2019 class on International Environmental Politics. Pitched to a general audience, this will be engaging and informative. Light refreshments will be provided and Q&A is encouraged.

The Vermont Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in four cases in McCullough Student Center — Wilson Hall. There will also be a Q&A with the justices from 11:30 a.m. until noon. The justices normally hear appellate cases in the Supreme Court building in Montpelier, VT but for the past several years they have held a term “On the Road” at a local high school and at Vermont Law School. Wilson Hall will be turned into a courtroom for the day so that students and community members can experience the appellate process.

Robert Trent Vinson is Frances L. and Edwin L. Cummings Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at the College of William and Mary. He will be speaking on the century-long transnational linkages between African Americans and black South Africans – in entertainment, sports, religion, and politics – as they collectively worked to dismantle the global color line and ultimately helped end the white supremacist apartheid system.

CONSTITUTION DAY 2019 LECTURE

Prof. Andrew Porwancher, University of Oklahoma

Alexander Hamilton’s meteoric rise from Caribbean obscurity to American founder has long captivated historians and, more recently, Broadway audiences. Yet a crucial aspect of Hamilton’s life has remained submerged for centuries: the balance of evidence suggests that he was Jewish. Drawing on untapped sources, Professor Porwancher will make the case for Hamilton’s Jewish upbringing and explore Hamilton’s role in making religious liberty a bona fide American principle.

Charles MacCormack ’63 is the former president of Save the Children USA and of World Learning. He has served in many leadership and advisory roles at the United Nations, helped found Malaria No More, and led the NGO coalition InterAction. From 2012-2016, he was Executive-in-Residence at Middlebury. He has his MA and PhD in political science from Columbia University, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In this talk, MacCormack will explore the changing landscape of international aid and development.

President Trump has appointed a record number of judges to the federal courts and has nominated two judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. These jurists may reshape the courts for a generation or more. Do they pose a threat to fundamental rights and equality under law? Will Trump-appointed judges take the courts in the wrong direction?

Two of the nation’s leading legal minds will provide contrasting answers to this question and take questions from the audience.