Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium – 7 p.m.

This event is in-person only. It will not be livestreamed nor recorded for future viewing. 

The Geopolitical Consequences of the Iran War

A Dickinson College Faculty Panel Discussion

Russell Bova – Political Science & International Studies
David Commins – History & Middle East Studies
Mireille Rebeiz  – Middle East Studies, French & Francophone Studies and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, marking a significant escalation in their conflict with Iran and intensifying instability across the Middle East. Since then, the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a central site of geopolitical contention and a critical factor in negotiations. As one of the world’s most vital energy corridors, disruptions to this waterway reverberate through global markets and supply chains, raising urgent questions about the role of energy security in shaping contemporary international relations.

At the same time, the conflict has generated profound humanitarian and public health concerns. Attacks on critical infrastructure, including desalination facilities, alongside disruptions to fertilizer and food systems, have heightened the risks of water scarcity and food insecurity across the region and beyond. As the conflict evolves, it has Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Livestream Link

The Canary in the Coal Mine: The 1951 Refugee Convention and the Collapse of the Post WW II International Order

Seyla Benhabib is the Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University Emerita and Senior Research Fellow at Columbia Law School and the Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

The 1951 Refugee Convention is one of the most important human rights documents of the post-WW II period. Like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (on which it is based) and the Genocide Convention, both of 1948, it embodied the hopes and aspirations of a new world order. Never again would those persecuted on account of their race, religion, ethnicity, political beliefs, and social group fail to find protection and refuge in countries other than those in which such persecution occurred.

The 1951 Convention, however, from the beginning was beset with some difficulties: first, it originally excluded countries of the Global South, whether by omission or by design. To this day, India is not a signatory of the Convention because the India-Pakistan War could find no place within its framework. Likewise, the categories of “protected groups,” named in the Convention, were Read more

Althouse Hall, Room 106 – 4:00 p.m.

Film Screening of Tulsa:  The Fire and the Forgotten

A Centennial Exploration of the 1921 Race Massacre

“A landmark PBS documentary, Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten examines the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre on the 100th anniversary of the crime. The film includes interviews with descendants of the victims and probes how their families’ devastating experience affects their lives in today’s America, and also documents the current excavation of potential mass graves from the massacre. Through the historical lens of white violence and Black resistance, this project explores issues of atonement, reconciliation, and reparation in the past, present and future.” – (Description taken from the DVD Cover)

The film screening will provide historical context for this week’s program with Forensic Anthropologist Phoebe Stubblefield titled, Finding Unity in History: Our Community Process Recovering Victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. This program is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. in ATS.

This film screening is being presented by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues. Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Bruce R. Andrews Lecture

Combating Online Harms: The Importance of Rigorous Scientific Testing of Proposed Interventions

Joshua A. Tucker is Director of the Jordan Center for Advanced Study of Russia, Co-Director of the Center for Social Media and Politics, and Professor of Politics at New York University

In the digital information era, policymakers and technology companies have implemented numerous interventions designed to mitigate online harms, ranging from misinformation to political polarization. However, Professor Joshua A. Tucker argues that we cannot rely on the assumption that these “common sense” solutions are effective; instead, they must be subjected to rigorous scientific testing. Drawing on extensive research from NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics (csmapnyu.org), Tucker will present findings from three major studies that challenge conventional wisdom. First, he will demonstrate how the popular advice to “do your own research” via search engines can paradoxically increase belief in misinformation due to low-quality search results. Second, he will discuss the limitations of source credibility labels, which appear to have little impact on downstream news consumption or trust in media. Finally, he will review the results of the U.S. 2020 Facebook & Instagram Election Study, Read more

Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 5 p.m.

Film Screening of award-winning Adiós Cuba, subtitles in English

Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

A​​cclaimed Cuban filmmaker, Rolando Diaz, will discuss the making of the film with Dickinson Professor Margaret G. Frohlich of Spanish and Portuguese Studies with Q & A to follow.

These programs are sponsored by The Griffith Fund, The Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, Spanish and Portuguese Studies, Film and Media Studies, Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies, Theater and Dance, Political Science, and The Center for Spirituality and Social Justice.

  Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

This program was in-person and livestream only. No recording is available for viewing.

Black History Month Conversation

The Psychology of Belonging: Navigating Identity on a College Campus

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, President Emerita of Spelman College, Best-Selling Author and Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum—esteemed psychologist, scholar, and former president of Spelman College—joins Dickinson College for a moderated conversation inspired by her New York Times-bestselling book, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” And Other Conversations about Race. This dialogue will explore the psychological foundations of racial identity development and the ways in which students seek affirmation, belonging, and safety in community. Tatum will share insights into how identity formation shapes the student experience and why supportive environments are essential for student success.

As part of our Black History Month observance, this event offers a rare opportunity to engage directly with one of the nation’s leading voices in higher education. Together, we will reflect on what it means to build inclusive living and learning communities, a shared commitment that calls for both personal awareness and collective action.

Moderated by Dr. Jacquie Forbes, assistant professor of educational studies, Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

We Are Called to Be a Movement

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President, Repairers of the Breach; Co-Chair, Poor People’s Campaign & New York Times Best-Selling Author

For years the Rev. William J. Barber II of the Poor People’s Campaign has been one of the most gifted moral fusion organizers, strategists and orators in the country. As an indispensable figure in the public policy and public theology landscape, he believes it’s time for everyone who cares about the state of our nation to heed the call and join forces to redeem the soul of America. It’s time to come together and renounce the politics of rejection, division and greed, and to lift up the common good, move up to higher ground and revive the heart of democracy. During this inspiring keynote, the Rev. Barber makes an impassioned argument with a message that could not be clearer: It’s time for change and the time needs you. A book signing will follow the presentation.

This program is presented by the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues.

Topic overview written by Supasinee Siripun ’27

Biography (provided by the Read more

Althouse Hall, Room 106 – 5 p.m.

Film Screening of King Coal

A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, King Coal meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. Elaine McMillion Sheldon reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a spectacularly beautiful and deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life. While intimately situated in the communities under the reign of King Coal, where McMillion Sheldon has lived and worked her entire life, the film transcends time and place, emphasizing the ways in which people are connected through an immersive mosaic of belonging, ritual, and imagination. Emerging from the long shadows of the coal mines, King Coal untangles the pain from the beauty and illuminates the innately human capacity for change.

This event presented by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and the Center for Sustainability Education and is part of Dickinson’s Fall Energy Transition Series. Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter, 7 p.m.

Livestream Link

A Conversation on the Making of the Film, King Coal

Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Filmmaker
Sherry Harper-McCombs, Dickinson College

Following a screening of King Coal the night before (Althouse 106 @ 5 p.m.), Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon will join the Clarke Forum for an event about her 2023 film King Coal. She will reflect on her creative goals and on choosing the film’s hybrid form—a blend of vérité, poetic narration, dance, and sound design—that echoes the mythic power coal still holds over Appalachian communities.

McMillion Sheldon will discuss how nonfiction storytelling can transcend the traditional bounds of documentary to express a region’s imagination and grief. Her documentary practice included work with creative collaborators to incorporate breath art, choreography, and archival fragments which reimagine coal not as a commodity, but as a cultural force embedded in daily life, rituals, and dreams.

A short presentation of select video and audio clips from the film will be followed by a ​conversation with Dickinson professor emerita of theatre & dance, Sherry Harper-McCombs, and a Q&A with the audience, opening a space for dialogue around environmental storytelling, regional identity, and the ethics of nonfiction filmmaking.

This Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

The Morgan Lecture

This event is in-person only. It will not be livestreamed nor recorded for future viewing. 

Love, Joy, Creativity & the Brain: The Heart of Culturally Responsive Education

Bettina L. Love, Columbia University

In this inspiring keynote, Dr. Love will explore the transformative power of love in education—within the classroom and beyond. Rooted in the belief that love and joy are the foundations of meaningful learning and human connection, she blends compelling storytelling, evidence-based research, and practical strategies to show how emotionally grounded teaching can radically reshape educational spaces.

Drawing from the groundbreaking neuroscience of Zaretta Hammond and the liberatory teachings of bell hooks, Dr. Love centers love not as sentimentality, but as an ethic—one rooted in care, accountability, and justice. She highlights how culturally responsive teaching, when combined with joy and emotional attunement, aligns both with how the brain learns best and how communities heal and thrive.

Creativity is presented as a vital force—a tool to honor cultural diversity, affirm identities, and spark curiosity—inviting students into deeper engagement and a stronger sense of belonging. This keynote offers educators an inspiring and actionable vision for designing classrooms where every child feels seen, Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

This event is in-person only. It will not be livestreamed or recorded.

U.S.-China Policy: How We Got Here and Where We’re Headed

Matthew Turpin, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and former National Security Council Director for China

Turpin will discuss the history of U.S. policy towards China, the debates that have shaped administrations since the end of the Cold War, and the risks and opportunities that policymakers weigh as they construct policy towards America’s most capable competitor.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Society and the Department of International Studies.

Topic overview written by Ian Chavez ’28

Biography (provided by the speaker)

Matt Turpin is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution specializing in U.S. policy towards the People’s Republic of China, economic statecraft and technology innovation.  He is also a senior advisor at Palantir Technologies.

From 2018 to 2019, Turpin served as the U.S. National Security Council’s director for China and the senior advisor on China to the secretary of commerce.  In those roles, he was responsible for managing the interagency effort to develop and implement U.S. Government policies on the Read more