Past Programs

Code of the Street: Violence and the Inner City Poor

Thursday, March 23, 2006
Code of the Street: Violence and the Inner City Poor
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

Code of the Street
Issue in Context
In an attempt to explain why many urban youths are prone to commit acts of violence and aggression, Dr. Anderson has identified a common set of street mores, termed the “code of the street.” Often termed “street justice,” the code allows individuals to command respect in society and alleviates the problems of inner city violence by relying on a strategy of deterrence. Often, the threat of implied violence is used to avoid the use of actual violence

The code reaches beyond the limits of the law, and helps residents gain a sense of security and belonging. The concept of “street justice” provides an alternative method for afflicted inner-city areas to manage their own problems in the face of an increasingly ineffectual police force.

About the Speaker
Elijah Anderson is the Charles and William L. Day Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the director for the Philadelphia Ethnography Project, associate editor of Qualitative Sociology, and a member of the board of directors of the American Academy Read more

International Women's Day: Perspectives on Progress and Challenges

Wednesday, March 8th, 2006
International Women’s Day: Perspectives on Progress and Challenges
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.Womens Day

Issue in Context
International Women’s Day takes place on March 8th of each year. The celebration was created by German Socialist Klara Zetkin in 1911. On International Women’s Day in 1917, Russian women were inspired to protest the rising costs and shortages of food, the world war, and their increased suffering. After 1917, March 8 became the official date for the celebration. When feminism surged in the 1960’s, interest in the holiday revived, and in 1975 the United Nations begun to sponsor International Women’s Day. In 1981, in Santa Rosa California a National Women’s History Week was spearheaded to bring international women together. In 1987 the week was expanded to an entire month, making March National Women’s History Month. Today, women from all over the world come together annually to celebrate peace, equality, and justice. This evening’s panel will discuss progress on women’s issues as well as persistent challenges regarding women’s rights.

About the Speakers
Rae Yang is a professor of Chinese language and literature in the East Asian Studies Department at Dickinson College. She was born in China and held several Read more

Is the European Union Constitution Dead?

Thursday, March 2, 2006
Is the European Union Constitution Dead?
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

eu poster

Eurpoean Constitution

Issue in Context
The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe is an international treaty commonly known as the European Constitution . The purpose of the Constitution is:

  • to bring together for the first time the many treaties and agreements on which the Union is based,
  • to classify human rights and democratic principles through the European Union (EU),
  • to define EU powers, stating when it can act and when the member states retain their rights of veto,
  • to identify the roles of the EU institutions,
  • and to make the decision-making process more efficient in what is currently a 25-member organization.

The Constitution’s effort to encapsulate all previous treaties enormously increased the document’s complexity and raised doubts about its effects in the diverse European setting. Furthermore, some countries saw it as instituting a European super-state, while other alleged it was establishing an ultra-liberal economic conglomerate. The constitution received additional criticism for extending the EU jurisdiction into areas of national strategy, such as immigration, asylum, and justice.

The treaty was signed in 2004 by the representatives of the member states of the Union and was later submitted Read more

Fatal Attraction: Fear of Death and Political Preferences

Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Fatal Attraction: Fear of Death and Political Preferences
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.
Fatal Attraction

Issue in Context
In the 2004 presidential election contest, George W. Bush emerged victorious by a substantial margin (two percent) of the popular vote—perhaps omit this part. Republican officials declared that Americans voted for Bush because he shared their traditional and moralistic values, and were generally satisfied with the President’s approach to the War on Terror. Others have argued that other factors contributed to Bush’s victory, including sub-conscious fears born from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the belief that the lives of Americans would be endangered by the election of Senator John Kerry.

One may posit that the combination of the fear of death arising from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the belief that Senator Kerry would not keep Americans safe influenced the electorate, thus demonstrating that the fear of death influences political preferences. Sheldon Solomon will present research to support this view.

To catalog evidence of the correlation between the fear of death and political preferences, Sheldon Solomon and his colleagues asked students to think about their own death and had them read campaign statements of three hypothetical political Read more

The Way We Were? 'Memories' of Traditional Marriage and Family Life

February 23, 2006
COMMON HOUR
The Way We Were? ‘Memories’ of Traditional Marriage and Family Life
Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall, 12:00 p.m.
The Way We Were

Issue in Context
During the 19th century, the age of sexual consent in some states was as low as nine or ten; alcoholism and drug abuse were more rampant than at present. During the “family-oriented” 1950s, teenage childbearing peaked. These facts belie the popular belief that traditional values of marriage and family thrived before recent times.

Through her research, Stephanie Coontz has revealed that the US is undergoing a “distressful and disorganizing social and economic transformation made all the more difficult by our romanticizing of a past that never existed as we choose to remember it. The so-called traditional family is no longer the norm and should not be made the ideal. Single-parent families cannot be considered abnormal anymore, and divorce is not an excuse for problematic children.”

Coontz believes that the ills of society most often receive the blame for the breakdown of the “traditional” marriage. She argues that the strengths of more diverse forms of family life must be recognized in order to solve these ills.

About the Speaker
Stephanie Coontz is currently a professor Read more

Avian Influenza and the Economics of Bio Security

Thursday, February 16, 2006
Avian Influenza and the Economics of Bio Security
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m. Issue in Context
A form of avian influenza, known as “fowl plague,” first appeared in Italy around 1878. It was first recognized in the United States in 1924, and occurred again in 1929. The disease was eradicated both times. In recent months, concern surrounding avian influenza has escalated. The latest cases lie along the migratory routes of birds, as in Turkey , where the H5N1 strain has taken several lives. The greatest fear, however stems from the possibility that H5N1 may evolve into a form of disease that will cause a virulent global human pandemic with a high mortality rate.

The threat posed by avian influenza is causing growing fear and raising many questions: Is fear justified? What are the scenarios for public health, the economy, and society? What are the underlying driving forces of this disease, and what can and should be done in response?

About the Speaker
Stephen Aldrich is the founder and President of Bio Economic Research Associates (bio-era), a leading independent research and advisory firm providing insight into the future of living systems and the global bio economy. Read more

30 Years of Saving the Chesapeake Bay: Observations, Lessons and a Forecast for the Next 30

Tuesday, February 14, 2006
30 Years of Saving the Chesapeake Bay: Observations, Lessons and a Forecast for the Next 30
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Chesapeake Bay

Issue in Context
In past few decades, the Chesapeake Bay – one of world’s most complex ecosystems – has faced serious decline due to pollution and other factors resulting from changes in surrounding landscape and modern times. Most scientists attribute these changes, at least indirectly, to ecological stress due to human activities, especially land use changes in the bay watershed related to deforestation, agriculture, use of fertilizers, and more recently, urbanization and sewage.

The physical processes that drive the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem sustain many habitats and organisms. Even the smallest of creatures plays a vital role in the overall health and production of the Bay. Therefore, measures are being taken to preserve and return the Chesapeake Bay to a condition that more closely resembles its original productivity. In order to do so, scientists and resource manager alike must first explore ways to improve water quality.

Tom Horton will discuss the efforts being taken in the restoration process and obstacles faced in such efforts.

About the Speaker
Tom Horton, environmental columnist, writes extensively on the Read more

It's a Gas! Petroleum and Energy Transitions in American Life

February 13, 2006
It’s a Gas! Petroleum and Energy Transitions in American Life
Stern Center, Great Room

It's a Gas
Issue in Context
The global petroleum industry was born in the Appalachian Basin in Titusville, Pennsylvania when the first well was drilled in the summer of 1859. At the time, nobody could have predicted that the discovery of this resource would result in an era of unparalleled growth and development. Since then, the use of petroleum as a source of energy has become a defining characteristic of the 20th century.

However, with the dawn of the 21st century some concern has begun to surface about surging oil prices. It is said that inexpensive energy fueled the “American century” of growth and development. With the end of the era of inexpensive energy, we face either a future of high cost energy or transition to more affordable energy sources.

Dr. Black examines where petroleum-based living has carried us during the 20th century and takes a glance towards the future to come to terms with our current petroleum conundrum.

About the Speaker
Brian Black teaches history and environmental studies at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona. His research emphasis is on the landscape and environmental history of North Read more

Women and Politics

Thursday, February 9, 2006
Running as a Woman: How Stereotypes Influence the Conduct and Consequences of Political Campaigns
Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall, 12:00 PM

Women, Media and Politics
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 PM

Running as a Woman

Issue in Context
Throughout the course of history, women have been the subject of oppression and countless stereotypes. Over the past few decades, general views of women have begun to change drastically. Women now are able to hold professional positions and command respect in a manner they were not able to in the early part of the century. In regards to electoral politics, however, the success of women tends to be directly correlated to stereotypical images of female candidates and the prominent issues of the day. The manner in which the general public perceives the capabilities and liabilities of today’s female candidate can greatly affect the operation and outcome of a political campaign. Additionally, stereotypes have a tendency to influence such aspects of campaigns as media coverage, the candidates’ behavior, and voters’ opinions. They may also shape the electoral climate, providing women with an advantage in some settings and a disadvantage in others.

The recent elections of female candidates around the globe combined with the Read more

Indigenous Australia: A Contemporary Snapshot

Wednesday, February 8
Indigenous Australia: A Contemporary Snapshot
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Australia Poster
Issue in Context
Indigenous Australians, commonly called Aborigines, form one of the oldest surviving cultures in the world. Native art, music, a strong faith, and family systems are key characteristics of the rich aboriginal culture, from the didgeridoo to dreamtime to fire-stick farming. Believed to have arrived in Australia about 40,000 years ago, there were 350-750 distinct groups with different dialects and languages when English colonists arrived in the eighteenth century.

Settlers did not value the native customs and values and gradually forced simulation across the country. Massive dispossession of traditional lands, disease and direct violence caused a 90 percent population decrease of Aborigines between 1788 and 1900. The population plummet eventually leveled as communities developed resistance to diseases and adapted to their circumstances. However, many of the tribal cultures and languages had been lost. Their traditional nomadic lifestyle was no longer viable with the increase of appropriated land, and many Aborigines worked on farms, paid for their labor with food, clothing and other basic necessities. They were not legally Australian citizens, and could not vote. Further family and cultural damage occurred from the Australian government’s Read more

How to be a Peacemaker

Thursday, February 2
COMMON HOUR
How to be a Peacemaker
Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall, 12:00 p.m.

Peacemaker
Issue in Context
If it is true that all governments claim they want peace for their citizens and for the international world, then why is it that we fail to teach our children peace in the classroom? In our modern society, there is very little focus on the study of non-violence, conflict resolution, pacifism, or the discipline of peace. Many famous philosophers have subscribed to this notion of nonviolence. Gandhi once famously said “Nonviolence is the weapon of the strong.” Einstein seemed to agree with this notion, writing “We must begin to inoculate our children against militarism by educating them in the spirit of pacifism. … I would teach peace rather than war, love rather than hate.”

People become violent because they are taught violence as children. This cycle of violence can be broken. Peacemaking can in fact be taught; the literature in this field is large and continues to grow. In 1970, only one college had a major in peace studies: Manchester College in Indiana . According to the Peace and Justice Studies Association, a national group based at Evergreen State College, Read more

AIDS: Lest We Forget

AIDS: Lest We Forget

A series of events to mark World AIDS Day. Co-sponsored by the Office of Campus Academic Life, Department of Biology and the Health and Wellness Committee.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Part I: 12:00 p.m. AIDS Quilt Opening Ceremony and Unveiling

Part II: 7:00 p.m. Film: And the Band Played On – A story of discovery of the AIDS virus. From the early days in 1978 when numerous San Francisco gays began dying from unknown causes, to the identification of the HIV Virus.

Thursday, December 1, 2005

Part III: 12:00 p.m. Common Hour Panel Discussion – The science and policies surrounding global and domestic AIDS.
James A. Hoxie, University of Pennsylvania, Phil Goropoulos, AIDS Community Alliance.

Special: 5:30 p.m . Bloodlines Viewing and Dinner Discussion – Heterosexual HIV
View Bloodlines – a 20 minute documentary developed by two young women who contracted AIDS followed by a discussion led by Philip Goropoulos ’97, CEO and president of AIDS Community Alliance.

Part IV: 7:00 p.m. Film: Silverlake Life: The View From Here – Winner of over 10 International Awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. An extraordinary video diary of living with AIDS. The film Read more

Liberal Arts Education, Leadership and Business Management

Tuesday, November 29, 2005
2005 Rush Award
Liberal Arts Education, Leadership and Business Management
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Liberal Arts Education

Issue in Context
Marvin Suomi of the Kajima Corporation once said “Somehow we have failed miserably in communicating to students and parents the importance of a well-rounded education in the business world. Today, perhaps more than ever, we need the depth of perspective that a liberal arts education can bring to decision making, product development, leadership, and other dimensions of business.”

Based on Mr. Suomi’s statement, one can easily begin to understand how much the business world has evolved in just a few decades. In the past, there was a clear bias within firms where specialized education was strongly preferred to liberal arts education in terms of background for employment. However, as the job market has evolved, so have the criteria for employment. Increasingly, firms are looking for individuals who exhibit skills in problem solving, the capacity for cross-cultural understanding, and the ability to place key decisions in broader social and historical contexts.

As more corporations become multi-national, the demand for liberal arts educated analysts in the business world continues to soar. The value of better understanding of human nature Read more

Ethics in Neurological Practice: Discerning Appropriate Medical Care in Cases of Severe Brain Injury and Disease

Thursday, November 17, 2005
Common Hour
Ethics in Neurological Practice: Discerning Appropriate Medical Care in Cases of Severe Brain Injury and Disease
Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall, 12:00 p.m.

Ethics in Neurology

Issue in Context
Modern medical science has brought remarkable changes to every individual’s life. Due to advances in medical technology, more people live longer, and more productively, than any generation in history. However, these advances engender ethical dilemmas that no generation of doctors has ever had to face. New life-sustaining techniques and practices are forcing hospitals to pose questions that never needed to be asked before. Foremost of these is the question, “How far do we go to save a life?” In other words, when suffering is immeasurable, and a patient’s condition terminal, should doctors be permitted to end a patient’s life?

Syndromes like persistent vegetative state and the immense suffering caused by prolonged cancers and various debilitating diseases have many people, including some doctors, wondering if it would be more humane for physicians to withdraw treatment in order to hasten death than sustain the lives of those suffering or unconscious. The recent Terri Schiavo case gives relevance to the emerging quandary over life-sustaining treatments.

There is an irrefutable need to Read more

The First September 11: The Tragedy of U.S. Moral Ambivalence Toward Democracy and Torture in the "Condor Years" in Latin America

Wednesday, November 16, 2005
The First September 11: The Tragedy of U.S. Moral Ambivalence Toward Democracy and Torture in the “Condor Years” in Latin America
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

First September 11
Issue in Context
When Americans hear the term 9/11, few associate it with the September 11, 1973 overthrow of Chile ‘s democratic government that marked the onset of cooperation between the United States and military regimes in Latin America. During the next decade, Washington turned a blind eye to the conduct of military regimes in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil that perpetrated horrific human rights abuses against both violent revolutionaries and defenders of democracy. In the name of combating the spread of communism, the United States backed a secret campaign to liquidate Latin American dissidents who sought asylum in other countries, “Operation Condor.” The Operation’s spies entered neighboring Latin American countries to track, monitor, and kill political adversaries. The most notorious Condor assassination took place in Washington, DC, in September 1976, when agents planted a car bomb that killed Chile’s former foreign minister Orlando Letelier and an American woman.

About the Speakers
John Dinges is a former foreign correspondent to Latin American countries and author of three Read more

The Age of Genocide

Tuesday, November 15, 2005
2005 Morgan Lecture
The Age of Genocide
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

Genocide
Issue in Context
Genocide is defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as the deliberate and systematic destruction,“in whole or in part of a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

During World War II, Winston Churchill stated that the world was facing “a crime without a name.” In the wake of the Holocaust, Raphael Lemkin, a Polish legal scholar, sought to formulate a term that could encompass the killings, the objectives, and the methods of the Nazis against the Jewish population of Europe. Lemkin coined the word “genocide” from the Greek “genos” (race or tribe) and the Latin suffix “cide” (to kill). Lemkin’s struggle for the universal recognition of international law defining and forbidding genocide brought about the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Remembering the Holocaust, American leaders such as Jimmy Carter and George Bush, Sr. promised that “never again will the world fail to act in time to prevent this terrible crime,” but the history of the 20th century proved that genocide happened again and again across the globe. Read more

Aquaporin Water Channels: From Atomic Structure to Clinical Medicine

Monday, November 14, 2005
2005 Priestley Lecture and Award
Aquaporin Water Channels: From Atomic Structure to Clinical Medicine
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7:30 P.M.

Aquaporin Water Channels

Peter Agre, Nobel Laureate and vice chancellor of science and technology at Duke University, presented the Priestley Award lecture on “Aquaporin Water Channels: From Atomic Structure to Clinical Medicine.” Agre discussed the high water permeability of certain biological membranes due to the presence of aquaporin water channel proteins, which have been associated with human clinical disorders such as brain edema and muscular dystrophy. Plant aquaporins are involved in numerous processes including the uptake of water by rootlets and carbon dioxide by leaves. Established in 1952, the annual Priestley Award honors a distinguished scientist who has made discoveries contributing to the welfare of mankind. The award commemorates Joseph Priestley, a Pennsylvania scientist, scholar and friend of Dickinson College, who isolated oxygen. Former Priestley Award recipients include Francis Crick, Stephen Jay Gould, Margaret Mead and Carl Sagan. Read more

The Death Penalty: Does the System Work?

Thursday, November 10, 2005
The Death Penalty: Does the System Work?
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

Death Penalty Poster

Issue in Context
“The criminal justice system can and does fail to distinguish the innocent from the guilty, and the implications for capital punishment are ghastly.” – from a discussion on the Internet in January, 1997.

“While some [death penalty] abolitionists try to face down the results of their disastrous experiment and still argue to the contrary, the…[data] concludes that a substantial deterrent effect has been observed…In six months, more Americans are murdered than have been killed by execution in this entire century…Until we begin to fight crime in earnest [by using the death penalty], every person who dies at a criminal’s hands is a victim of our inaction.” – Karl Spence, Texas A&M University.

Over half of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty either by law or by practice. However, the United States federal government and 38 states, including Pennsylvania, still have capital punishment as an option for sentencing. In 2004, 59 death row inmates in the United States were executed, in most cases by lethal injection. In November and December 2006 alone, Texas has scheduled six executions. Read more

Presidential War Powers: From Lincoln to Bush

Thursday, November 3, 2005
Presidential War Powers: From Lincoln to Bush

Presidential War

Part I: Common Hour DEBATE: Resolved: The War in Iraq is Just
David Perry, professor of ethics at the U.S. Army War College
Russ Bova, professor of political Science at Dickinson College.
Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall, 12:00 p.m.

Part II: Teach-In. When Does a War End?: War Powers and the Lessons of Reconstruction after the American Civil War
Michael Vorenberg, author of Final Freedom and professor of history at Brown University
Stern Center, Great Room, 2:00 p.m.

Part III Roundtable: Presidential War Powers: Historical Perspectives from Lincoln to Bush
John Yoo, former deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice and professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley
Louis Fisher, Senior Specialist in Separation of Powers for the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress; and Michael Vorenberg, author of Final Freedom and professor of history at Brown University
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Issue in Context- Debate
There is much political debate in America today over whether the most recent war in Iraq meets the criteria necessary for a war to be considered just. Read more

Race, Class, and Violence in America: Building Coalitions for Change

Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Race, Class, and Violence in America: Building Coalitions for Change
Stern Center, Great Room 7:00 P.M.

Race Poster
Issue in Context
Between 1973 and 1994, the poverty rate for children in young families has doubled. Meanwhile, violent crime committed by youths has increased more than 78% in the past six years. According to statistics, shortly after the year 2050, the white majority in America will dissipate. This information is used on hate websites to negatively influence and scare young people into believing America is not the country it once was. It is clear that coalition building is more important than ever if the current younger generation is to have any hope for a successful future.

Thirty years ago, white residents of a Boston neighborhood, known as Southi, pelted school buses carrying black students with rocks and tomatoes. This area of south Boston had the highest concentration of impoverished whites in America in the 1970’s; Southie also represented the face of racism in the northeast. Mob murders, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and frequent funerals for young people were rampant. Few insiders then or now have spoken out about this aspect of Boston.

Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up in Southie Read more