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Elizabeth Hinton

Hinton Poster FinalHarvard University

Federal Policy, Urban Policing, and the Roots of Mass Incarceration

Thursday, November 19, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Shedding light on the devastating outcomes and the deep racial disparities within American law enforcement and penal institutions, Hinton traces the development of the War on Crime from its origins in the War on Poverty through the rise of mass incarceration and the War on Drugs in the 1980s. Hinton’s historical account situates the punitive policies of Ronald Reagan not as a sharp policy departure but rather as the full realization of the shift towards surveillance and confinement implemented by previous administrations.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the departments of American studies, history, philosophy and sociology. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s semester theme, Inequality and Mass Incarceration in the United States.

Biography (provided by the speaker)

ehintonimageElizabeth Hinton is assistant professor in the Department History and the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Hinton’s research focuses on the transformation of domestic social programs and urban inequality in the 20th century United States. She is the author of a forthcoming history Read more

Tibetan Cultural Pageant

Cultural Pageant PosterA Program that is Part of the Tibetan Monk Residency,
Enlightened Activity: The Green Tara Initiative

Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Weiss Center for the Arts, Rubendall Recital Hall, 7 p.m.

Tibetan Monks, Drepung Monastery’s Gomang College

This program is a colorful display of traditional Tibetan arts. The monks will perform a variety of dances—the yak dance, snow lion dance, “good luck” dance—wearing special costumes. They also chant in the distinctive way that they use for pujas and will demonstrate their vigorous style of monastic debating.

This residency is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by a Center for Sustainability Education Grant, the Departments of East Asian Studies and Religion,  Center for Service, Spirituality, and Social Justice,  Waidner-Spahr Library, Division of Student Life and the Luce grant for Asian studies and the environment.

Tibetan Monks Facebook Page

Video of the Presentation

Read more

Inviting Green Tara: An Illustrated Talk and Tibetan Buddhist Ritual

Monks Tara PosterA Program that is Part of the Tibetan Monk Residency,
Enlightened Activity: The Green Tara Initiative

Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Dan Cozort, Dickinson College
Tibetan Monks, Drepung Monastery’s Gomang College

Mandala making is part of a distinctive religious practice called tantra or vajrayana. The practitioner of the Tara tantra chants a liturgy that describes Tara and the cosmos, symbolized by the mandala, but in three dimensions. As he chants, he visualizes the three dimensional mandala and visualizes Tara within it; then he suddenly becomes Tara and visualizes doing feats of vast generosity and healing. The chanting is done in an unusual and distinctive manner; the monks employ a tone so low that it generates overtones, so that each monk is singing a chord. They also use bells, drums, and sometimes a kind of oboe. Before the puja begins, Prof. Cozort will give a short illustrated talk about Tara, the mandala, and the puja, making the connection between what the monks are doing and Buddhist insights into greed, delusion, and ill-will as the roots of environmental degradation and consumerism.

This residency is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by Read more

Enlightened Activity: The Green Tara Initiative

Monks PosterTibetan Monk Residency

Tuesday, November 17 – Saturday, November 21, 2015

Monks from Drepung Monastery’s Gomang College, originally near Lhasa, Tibet, and now re-established in south India, will come to Dickinson to present “A Tibetan Buddhist Approach to Thinking About Our Place in the Cosmos.” Over the course of four days, the monks will construct a mandala (symbol of the cosmos) out of colored sand; perform a puja (a ritual involving chanting and visualization of the symbolized cosmos); perform a cultural program with traditional Tibetan dances, chanting, and debating; and visit classes.

This residency is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by a Center for Sustainability Education Grant, the Departments of East Asian Studies and Religion,  Center for Service, Spirituality, and Social Justice,  Waidner-Spahr Library, Division of Student Life and the Luce grant for Asian studies and the environment.

Video of Opening Ceremony for the Green Tara Mandala Construction

Time Lapse Video of Mandala Construction

[ensemblevideo contentid=-Zp5Lrk9wUahW5FArPZD7g]

Sacred Art Tour Central PA Facebook Page

Green Tara Mandala Construction 
Waidner-Spahr Library

The Green Tara Mandala is a beautiful creation in colored sand. The monks will draw an outline on the mandala platform and then begin to fill Read more

Emanuelle Oliveira-Monte

Emanuelle Oliveira Monte PosterVanderbilt University

Obama Is Brazilian: (Re)Signifying Race Relations in Contemporary Brazil

Thursday, November 12, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Barack Obama’s election to the American presidency in 2009 sparked a renewed interest in the theme of race in the Americas, and worldwide. The sight of an African American as President of the United States led analysts to declare that North America was living in a post-racial era. But Obama’s election also had a tremendous impact on the imaginary of the African Diaspora.  This lecture will examine his characterizations in the Brazilian media, especially in examples of political humor, such as cartoons and memes.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by Latin American, Latino and Caribbean studies, Portuguese and Brazilian studies and the department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Oliveira Monte professional pictureBiography (provided by the speaker)
Professor Oliveira-Monte’s research interests include Afro-Brazilian literature, race relations, race in comparative perspective, the Afro-Diasporic experience, the relationship between politics and literature, literature of human rights, as well as Brazilian Cinema and Popular Culture. Her manuscript Writing Identity: The Politics of Contemporary Afro-Brazilian Literature (Purdue UP, 2007) examines the intricate connections between literary production and political action by focusing Read more

Breaking Issue: The Iran Nuclear Deal

Iran Nuclear Deal PosterTuesday, November 10, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:30 p.m.

Dickinson  Panelists:

Andrea Lieber, associate professor of religion and Judaic studies
Jeffrey McCausland, visiting professor of international security studies
Edward Webb, associate professor of political science and international studies
Anthony Williams (moderator), visiting professor of political science and security studies

On July 11th, 2015, Iran and a group of six nations led by the United States reached a historic agreement limiting Tehran’s nuclear ability in exchange for lifting international oil and financial sanctions. The overall goal of the accord is to increase Iran’s “breakout time” – the time it would take Iran to make enough material for a single nuclear weapon. Critics of the negotiation question the verifiability of the constraints and the long-term impact on  regional and world stability.  The panel, comprised of Dickinson College faculty members, will explore the historic negotiation and its international policy, security and cultural implications.

The event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues. It is was also initiated by the Student Project Managers of the Clarke Forum.

Biographies (provided by the panelists)

lieberAndrea Lieber is associate professor of religion and Sophia Ava Asbell Read more

Doris Fuller

Doris Fuller PosterTreatment Advocacy Center, Arlington, VA

The New Asylums: Mentally Ill and Behind Bars

Thursday, November 5, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Live Stream Link

In the 1930s, barely one in 100 jail inmates had a serious mental illness. Today, the most conservative estimates are one in five jail inmates and even more of the prison population. With video, personal story and professional insight, Fuller will discuss the role of mental illness in turning the U.S. into the world leader in incarceration and discuss practical measures to curb this trend.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Division of Student Life, health studies and the department of psychology. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s semester theme, Inequality and Mass Incarceration in the United States. 

Biography (provided by the speaker)

Doris Fuller SeriousDoris A. Fuller is chief of research and public affairs, where she conducts and directs the Treatment Advocacy Center’s original studies abd research-driven communications, including public education related to mental illness.

Fuller has co-authored several recent studies from the Treatment Advocacy Center, including:

Read more

Nikki Jones

Nikki Jones Final PosterUniversity of California, Berkeley

How Things Fall Apart: Race and Suspicion in Police-Civilian Encounters

Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Drawing on years of field research among Black residents in urban neighborhoods, interviews with police, and videorecordings of police-civilian encounters, sociologist Nikki Jones illustrates how race, suspicion and bias shape the earliest moments of such encounters. She will also share findings from her research which reveals key interactional adjustments that could be used to improve the quality of police encounters with the public.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Churchill Fund and the departments of women’s and gender studies, educational studies, policy studies, and sociology. It is part of the Clarke Forum’s semester theme, Inequality and Mass Incarceration in the United States, and its Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series.

EmilyKiyomiPhotographyBiography (Link to UC Berkeley Web site)

Nikki Jones is an associate professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She is also a faculty affiliate with the Center for the Study of Law and Society. Her areas of expertise include urban ethnography, race and ethnic relations Read more

John Geer

GeerPosterVanderbilt University

The Bruce R. Andrews Lecture

Attacking Democracy

Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Live Stream Link

Conventional wisdom says negative political attacks undermine democracy. This lecture will argue, instead, that “attack politics” advance democratic governance.

The event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, the Bruce R. Andrews Fund and the Churchill Fund. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series.

Biography (provided by the speaker)

John G. Geer is vice provost for Academic and Strategic Affairs at Vanderbilt UniversitSGy, interim dean of the Graduate School, and the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science.  He earned his Ph.D. in 1986 from Princeton University.  Geer is past editor of The Journal of Politics. Geer has published widely on campaigns, elections, and public opinion.  He is author of In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns, which won Harvard University’s Goldsmith Prize in 2008.  Geer has recently published the third edition of Gateways to Democracy (2015).  He has provided extensive commentary in the news media about American politics, including live nationwide interviews for FOX, CNN, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, ABC, and NPR.  Read more

BREAKING ISSUE: The Syrian Migration Crisis

syrian migration crisis posterMonday, October 26, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Panelists:

Kristine Mitchell, associate professor of political science and international studies, Dickinson College
Magda Siekert, lecturer in Middle East studies, Dickinson College
Marybeth Ulrich, professor of government, U.S. Army War College
Andrew Wolff (moderator), assistant professor of political science and international studies, Dickinson College

Since March 2011, 49% of the Syrian population have migrated from the country, fleeing the brutal dictator, Bashar al-Assad, the rise of jihadists, and the proxy war between regional and world powers to seek refuge in Europe and most recently, the United States. This is the largest displaced persons population in history. With the war and turmoil in Syria only intensifying, Syrian refugees are continuing to make the treacherous journey to surrounding countries by any means possible. This panel, comprised of Dickinson and U. S. Army War College faculty members, will explore the international security, diplomatic and social implications of the displacement and how the world powers are responding to the crisis.

This event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and is a Clarke Forum Student Project Manager initiated event.

Biographies (provided by the panelists)

mitchelkKristine Mitchell is Read more

Cumberland County Commissioner Candidates’ Forum

Cumb Co Comm Forum PosterThursday, October 15, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Vince DiFilippo (R)
Gary Eichelberger (R)
Jim Hertzler (D)
Rick Rovegno (D)

The four candidates vying for the three seats on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners will meet for a candidates’ forum. James Hoefler from Dickinson College will moderate.

The event is sponsored by the The Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues at Dickinson College, the Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Carlisle Branch, Carlisle Young Professionals, Carlisle YWCA, League of Women Voters Carlisle Area and The Sentinel. Read more

Steven Strogatz – “Joseph Priestley Award Recipient”

Strogatz PosterCornell University

Joseph Priestley Award Celebration Lecture

Synchronization in Nature

Monday, October 12, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Strogatz will discuss spectacular examples of synchronization in nature, from rhythmically flashing fireflies to crowds of pedestrians that inadvertently caused London’s Millennium Bridge to wobble on its opening day.

The Joseph Priestley Award recipient is chosen by a different science department each year.  The Department of Physics and Astronomy has selected this year’s recipient, Steven Strogatz. The event is supported by the College’s Priestley Fund and is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, Student Senate and the Churchill Fund  and co-sponsored by the departments of physics and astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, environmental studies, math & computer science, and psychology.

strogatz photo by John GrooBiography (provided by the speaker)

Steven Strogatz is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics at Cornell University. He works in the areas of nonlinear dynamics and complex systems, often on topics inspired by the curiosities of everyday life. He studied at Princeton, Cambridge, and Harvard and taught at MIT before moving to Cornell in 1994. A renowned teacher and one of the world’s most highly cited mathematicians, he has blogged about math for the New York Read more

Christopher Wildeman ’02

Wildeman Final PosterCornell University

With Comments by Lauren Porter ’06, University of Maryland

Family Life in an Era of Mass Incarceration

Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

This lecture will consider the implications of mass incarceration for American families, focusing especially on the consequences of men’s incarceration for their parents, partner, and progeny.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and is part of the Clarke Forum’s semester theme, Inequality and Mass Incarceration in the United States.

portrait cjw from Cornell Web siteBiographies (provided by the speakers)

Christopher Wildeman is an associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University. He is also currently a senior researcher at the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit in Copenhagen, Denmark (since 2015) and a visiting fellow at the Bureau of Justice Statistics in Washington, D.C. (since 2013). Prior to joining Cornell’s faculty, he was an associate professor of sociology at Yale University (from 2010-2014) and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at the University of Michigan (from 2008-2010). He received his Ph.D. in sociology and demography from Princeton University in 2008 and his B.A. in philosophy, sociology, and Spanish from Dickinson College in 2002. His interests revolve around Read more

Patricia Hill Collins – “Morgan Lecturer”

PHC Final PosterUniversity of Maryland

Intersectionality, Black Youth and Political Activism

Thursday, October 1, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium (ATS), 7 p.m.

Live Stream Link

This talk examines how intersectional frameworks shed light on new directions for anti-racist activism, especially among African American youth.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and the Morgan Lecture Fund and co-sponsored by the Churchill Fund, Division of Student Life, the departments of sociology, women’s and gender studies, Africana studies, American studies, anthropology, English, history,  philosophy, and political science. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s semester theme, Inequality and Mass Incarceration in the United States and the Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series.

PatriciaHillCollins Head ShotBiography (provided by the speaker)

Patricia Hill Collins is Distinguished University Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park and Charles Phelps Taft Emeritus Professor of Sociology within the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Her award-winning books include Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (1990, 2000) which received both the Jessie Bernard Award of the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the C. Wright Mills Award of the Society for the Study of Social Problems; Read more

Bob Weick

Weick PosterActor and Monologist, Featured as Karl Marx

Marx in Soho by Howard Zinn

Monday, September 28, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium (ATS), 7 p.m.

Karl Marx launches into a passionate, funny and moving defense of his life and political ideas in Howard Zinn’s brilliant and timely play, Marx in Soho.

The presentation is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the departments of economics and sociology.

Marx Photo with ManifestoBiography (provided by the speaker)

Bob Weick, is the national touring actor of Howard Zinn’s, Marx in Soho. The celebrated actor and Barrymore Award nominee has presented over 250 performances of Zinn’s play from Maine to California. A farrier by trade, Bob began his acting career in 1995 and in the aftermath of the 2000 election, 9/11, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, chose to use his talent to contribute to the education and engagement of students and citizens.

Related Links
www.ironagetheatre.orghttp://phindie.com/howard-zinn-bob-weick-peoples-history-6757/

Video of Performance for Campus-Viewing Only

  Read more

Anthony Ingraffea

Ingraffea PosterCornell University

Shale Gas and Oil Development: Latest Evidence on Leaky Wells, Methane Emissions, and Energy Policy

Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium (ATS), 7 p.m.
(360 W. Louther Street, Carlisle, PA)

Ingraffea will discuss the myths and realities concerning large-scale development of unconventional natural gas/oil resources in shale deposits on both a local and global scale.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Churchill Fund,  Center for Sustainability Education, department of environmental studies and Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM). The program is also part of the Clarke Forum’s  Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series.

Dr Ingraffea ithaca fallsBiography (provided by the speaker)

Dr. Ingraffea is the Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering Emeritus and a Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University where he has been since 1977. He holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado. Dr. Ingraffea’s research concentrates on computer simulation and physical testing of complex fracturing processes. He and his students performed pioneering research in the use of interactive Read more

Rush Holt

Final Holt PosterAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

The Glover Memorial Lecture
Advancing Science

Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium (ATS), 7 p.m.
(360 W. Louther Street, Carlisle, PA)

Science is, as physician and essayist Lewis Thomas wrote, the “shrewdest maneuver” for discovering the world. Asking questions that can be answered empirically and engaging in open communication so that others can collectively review and verify possible answers lead to the most reliable knowledge—a knowledge that is powerfully applicable in daily life. To thrive, however, science needs the support of the society it serves, and that support must be cultivated.

The event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and the Glover Memorial Lecture Fund and co-sponsored by the Churchill Fund and the departments of physics, policy studies and political Science. This program is also part of the Clarke Forum’s Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series.

Biography (provided by the speaker)holt aaas px

Rush D. Holt, Ph.D., became the 18th chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals in February 2015. In this role, Holt leads the world’s largest multi-disciplinary scientific and Read more

Preview of Fall 2015 Programs

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

The Glover Memorial Lecture
Advancing Science
Rush Holt, CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Shale Gas and Oil Development: Latest Evidence on Leaky Wells, Methane Emissions, and Energy Policy
Tony Ingraffea, Cornell University

Monday, September 28, 2015

Marx in Soho by Howard Zinn
Bob Weick, actor and monologist, featured as Karl Marx

Thursday, October 1, 2015

The Morgan Lecture
Intersectionality, Black Youth and Political Activism
Patricia Hill Collins, University of Maryland Read more

Meet the Candidates

Meet the candidates running for Cumberland County Commissioner and for the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas.

Cumb Co Candidates Forum Final

Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium

7:00 p.m. – Commissioner Candidates’ Forum

8:00 p.m. – Court of Common Pleas Candidates’ Forum

A meet and greet with all candidates will be held following the last forum.

Commissioner Candidates’ Forum – 7 p.m.

All three Cumberland County Commissioners seats are up for re-election this November. The primary election will be held on May 19, 2015 and the top two candidates from each party will be put on the ballot for the November election. The seven candidates running for County Commissioner are Barb Cross (R), Vince DiFilippo (R), Gary Eichelberger (R), Dashell Fittry (D), Jim Hertzler (D), Rick Rovegno (D) and Rick Schin (R). This forum will start with each candidate giving a brief introductory statement followed by rebuttals, followed by two written submitted questions from the public. Michelle Crowley, president and CEO of the Greater Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce will moderate and read the questions selected for this part of the program.

Court of Common Pleas Candidates’ Forum – 8 p.m.

The one open seat is Read more

Peterson Toscano – (Second Night of Two Performances)

Toscano Final PosterTheatrical Performer, Bible Scholar and LGBTQ Activist

Peterson Unplugged

Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

With sparkling social commentary, Peterson Toscano, a bible scholar, an LGBTQ activist, and a skilled actor, will share excerpts from his original one-person comedies. These comedies include:  Doin’ Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House, Jesus Had Two Daddies, Transfigurations—Transgressing Gender in the Bible, and Does this Apocalypse Make Me Look Fat?

Tonight is the second evening of two performances. The first performance, Climate Change: What’s Faith Got to Do with It? is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m.

This event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Division of Student Life, Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, Office of Community Service and Religious Life, Center for Sustainability Education and Office of LGBTQ Services.

Biography (provided by the speaker)

Toscano PicPeterson Toscano is a theatrical performance activist using comedy and storytelling to address social justice concerns. He spent 17 years and over $30,000 on three continents attempting (and failing) to change his same-sex orientation. He is the author of one-person comedies including, Queer 101–Now I Know My gAy,B,C’s, Jesus Read more