Government News/Events

Events: Lectures and Panel Presentations

The Government Department sponsors lectures and panel presentations by distinguished professors and experts on a variety of issues associated with U.S. and international politics. These events provide information and innovative ideas, and they stimulate critical thinking and discussion on important issues of our time. Oftentimes the discussions continue into relevant classes.

In the year leading up to a national election, we typically offer a series of talks. An example from the 2004 election is listed below. A related series will accompany the 2008 election. In addition, each semester one of our department faculty members offers a lecture on his or her current research. Topics from the past several years are listed.

The Government department also works in collaboration with other departments and programs to co-sponsor speakers and panels; several examples are listed here. As the end is a set of "miscellaneous" lectures. All of these events are followed by a Question and Answer period whereby our majors (and other interested persons) can pursue points of interest.

• "The 2004 Election" series of speakers/panels, organized by Dorothy James during the spring and fall semesters of 2004:
• Lecture by Thomas E. Mann, the W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, "The Changing American Political Landscape: The War, the Economy and the 2004 Election."
• Lecture by William A. Niskanen, Chairman of the Cato Institute, "Economic Conditions and Presidential Elections."
• Panel of international relations professors: Alex Hybel, David Patton, and John Tian discuss "Foreign Policy Issues in the 2004 Presidential Election."
• Lecture by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, an expert on political campaigns and the media: "Everything You Think You Know About Politics 2004 and Why You May Be Wrong." 
• Panel of Americanists discuss "The Other Elections." Panelists were MaryAnne Borrelli, Bill Frasure, Dorothy James and John Nugent.

Lectures by Government faculty:

• Bill Frasure, Professor of Government, "The Vietnamese Border Campaign of 1950."
• Bill Rose, Professor of Government, "Explaining Israel's Responses to Terrorism: Insights from Balance of Threat Theory."
• David F. Patton, Associate Professor of Government, "Making Sense of the 2005 German Election."
• Wendell J. Coats, Jr., "Translating Political Theory into Practice: Problems and Limitations."
• Tristan Borer, "A Taxonomy of Victims and Perpetrators: The Realities of Reconciliation in South Africa."

Co-Sponsored Events:

• We help sponsor the biannual conference run by the Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies. A supported speaker was Kathryn Hochstetler, Professor from the University of New Mexico, "Creative Approaches to Preserving Biodiversity in Brazil and the Amazon." The 2007 theme was "Saving Biological Diversity." Jane Dawson helped structure the sessions and bring in scholars who add a political and/or international element.
• For the previous biannual conference, we sponsored Miranda Schreurs, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, "Addressing the Transboundary Acid Rain Issue in Western Europe: Lessons and Comparison with the U.S. Experience" and  Barbara Connolly, Assistant Professor Political Science, Notre Dame, "The Challenge of East European Integration & Compliance with Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution Treaty."
• A debate on the wisdom of the new US national security doctrine of preemptive attack. This debate, co-sponsored with CISLA, was part of "The People Speak," a nation-wide series of debates and public discussions.
• A public talk by Luis Murrillo, "Prospects for an Enduring Peace in Colombia: Where We are Today and Where We are Going." Co-sponsored with the History Department.
• A series of events centering on the Mekong River. Organized by Lan-Lan Wang.

Other Lectures and Panel Discussions:

• Joshua Green, Senior Editor of The Atlantic, "Hillary Rodham Clinton: Rise, Fall, and Resurrection." This lecture was based on the cover story he did on Ms. Clinton.
• John F. Lehman, Former Secretary of the Navy and Member of the 9/11 Commission, "The War on Islamist Terror."
• Monica Duffy Toft, Assistant Director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, "Peace through Victory? An Assessment of the Consequences and Costs of Different Types of Civil War Termination."
• Stephen Van Evera, MIT Professor, "Memory and the Israel-Palestinian Conflict: Time for New Narratives."
• Margaret Loescher, award-winning documentary film maker, screened and discussed her film "Pulled from the Rubble." The film is an examination of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Iraq in August 2003, through the eyes of one of the few people who survived the bombing, human rights activist Gil Loescher (her father).
• Debate on "Kelo vs. New London: The Fort Trumbull eminent domain case," with Thomas Londregan, attorney representing the City of New London, and Scott Sawyer ('88), attorney representing residents of the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.
• Judge Patricia McGowan Wald ('48), "U.S. Intelligence, Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Past Mistakes and Future Reforms." Judge Wald was a member of the "President's Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction."

EVENTS: Sponsored Annually by our Student Advisory Board

• "Meet the Majors" for freshmen.
• In May, just after grades for graduating seniors are submitted, we have our annual Government-Economics softball game and cookout.
  

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 14:13