Harrington Spear Paine Foundation Professor of Religion, Princeton University

The Cultural Impact of the Book of Revelation

Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 6:00 p.m.

Pagels will address who wrote the Book of Revelation, why it was written, how it became a part of the Bible, and how it became influential in politics, art and culture over the last 2,000 years.

Biography (from Princeton.edu)
Elaine Pagels joined the Princeton faculty in 1982, shortly after receiving a MacArthur Fellowship. Perhaps best known as the author of The Gnostic Gospels, The Origin of Satan, and Adam, Eve and the Serpent, she has published widely on Gnosticism and early Christianity, and continues to pursue research interests in late antiquity. Her most recent books include Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas (was on the New York Times best-seller list) and Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity, co-authored with Karen King of Harvard.  Her current project is working on a book entitled Revelations which will explore the New Testament Book of Revelation and other Jewish, Christian, and Pagan books of Revelation written around the same time.  She will be on leave for the 2010-11 Read more

Professor of Economics, University of Missouri–Kansas City

A Minskian Explanation of the Economic Crisis

Thursday, February 24, 2011
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

Relying upon the theories and assumptions of Hyman Minsky, Wray will explore and expound upon the factors that contributed to the current economic and financial crisis.

This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Economics.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
L. Randall Wray is a professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City as well as research director, the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability, and senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, NY. A student of Hyman P. Minsky while at Washington University in St. Louis, Wray has focused on monetary theory and policy, macroeconomics, financial instability, and employment policy. He has published widely in journals and is the author of Understanding Modern Money: The Key to Full Employment and Price Stability (Elgar, 1998) and Money and Credit in Capitalist Economies (Elgar 1990). He is the editor of Credit and State Theories of Money (Edward Elgar 2004) and the co-editor of Contemporary Post Keynesian Analysis (Edward Elgar 2005), Money, Financial Instability and Stabilization Policy (Edward Elgar 2006), and Keynes for Read more

Editor and Publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report

Obama: The Way Forward

Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

What’s next for Obama, Democrats and the GOP? Rothenberg will look back to the midterm elections and ahead to the 112th Congress and the 2012 presidential race.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
Stuart Rothenberg is editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, a non-partisan political newsletter covering U.S. House, Senate and gubernatorial campaigns, Presidential politics and political developments. He is also a twice-a-week columnist for Roll Call, Capitol Hill’s premier newspaper.

He holds a B.A. from Colby College (Waterville, Maine) and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Connecticut. He has taught at Bucknell University (Lewisburg, Pennsylvania) and at the Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.).

A frequent soundbite, Mr. Rothenberg has appeared on Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation, The NewsHour, Nightline and many other television programs. He is often quoted in the nation’s major media, and his op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers.

Mr. Rothenberg served as an election night analyst for the Newshour on PBS in 2008 Read more

Former Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Mexico, Drugs and Crime

Thursday, February 17, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

For the last decade, Mexico, and especially its border regions, has suffered skyrocketing murder rates and a breakdown in public safety driven by a surge in drug-fueled organized crime. The “Merida Initiative,” first crafted in 2008, was an attempt by the United States to help its neighbor, but the violence today continues unabated. Johnson, the senior U.S. government official responsible for this “initiative” from its inception until January 2011, will address how it was crafted, what it has delivered, and the prospects for bringing down Mexico’s high rates of murder and violence.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
David T. Johnson served as Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs from October 2007 to January 2011. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Johnson served as Deputy Chief of Mission for the US Embassy in London from August 2003 until August 2007.

Mr. Johnson, of Georgia, entered the United States Foreign Service in 1977. He served as the Afghan Coordinator for the United States from May 2002 to July 2003. He served as United States Ambassador to Read more

Writer, Performer, and Activist

Sexual Empowerment: A World Without Rape

Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Depot, 7:00 p.m.
A book signing will follow.

Based on her hit book Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World without Rape, Friedman explains how the culture shames women for expressing their sexuality, how the media uses empty images of female sexuality to fuel sales, and how rape is allowed to function in society.

The event was organized by The Clarke Forum Student Project Managers and is co-sponsored by Student Senate and the Women’s Center.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
Jaclyn Friedman is a writer, performer, and activist, and the editor of the hit book Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape (one of Publishers’ Weekly’s Top 100 Books of 2009).

As an undergraduate, Jaclyn thought she was too smart to become a victim of sexual assault – until another student proved her wrong. That experience eventually led her to become a student and instructor of IMPACT safety training. At IMPACT, she helped bring safety skills to the communities which most need them, including gang-involved high school students and women transitioning out of abusive Read more

Assistant Professor of Political Science and Humanities, Reed College

Untying the Knot

Thursday, February 10, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

As the issue of same-sex marriage wends its way to the Supreme Court, Metz claims that state control of marriage conflicts with basic liberal principles and threatens families. Drawing a parallel to religion, Metz argues that marriage should be disestablished and that the state should use other means for supporting intimate caregiving.

The event is co-sponsored by The Women’s Center and the Office of Institutional and Diversity Initiatives.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
Tamara Metz is a political theorist at Reed College, Portland, OR. Her interests include history of political thought, classical and contemporary liberalism; feminist and critical theory; care; policy, law and ethics. She is the author of Untying the Knot: Marriage, the State and the Case for their Divorce (Princeton University Press, 2010), in which she explores the history of the relationship between marriage and the state in liberal theory and practices, and concludes that marriage should be disestablished. Related material appears in Just Marriage (Oxford, 2004), Contemporary Political Theory (2007), Marriage and Family (Columbia, 2009), and Politics & Gender (2010). At Reed, in addition to Read more