Thursday, October 13, 2016
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Dickinson Panelists

Kathleen Marchetti, assistant professor of political science
Sarah Niebler (moderator), assistant professor of political science
David O’Connell, assistant professor of political science
Eric Vázquez, visiting assistant professor of American Studies

A panel of Dickinson professors will discuss the 2016 presidential election from an academic, nonpartisan perspective, covering topics such as gender and race, the importance (or not) of campaigns, immigration, voting behavior, and presidential primaries.

This event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and is part of our stream on the 2016 Presidential Election.

Biographies (provided by the panelists)

Kathleen Marchetti is an assistant professor of political science at Dickinson College. She holds dual degrees in political science and women’s studies from Penn State University and Gettysburg College. Her research and teaching interests focus on gender and politics, interest groups, intersectionality, state politics, and political methodology. Her research on these topics has been published in State and Local Government Review, Interest Groups & Advocacy; Gender, Place & Culture; Politics, Groups and Identities, the Washington Post‘s Monkey Cage, and the London School of Economics’ American Politics and Policy blog. Read more

Thursday, October 6, 2016
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Panelists

David Commins (moderator), Dickinson College
Marybeth Ulrich, U.S. Army War College
Ed Webb, Dickinson College

Marred diplomatic relations and religious differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia have flared up into proxy conflicts across the Middle East. Our panelists will discuss the factors and offer insight into what the future will hold for the Middle East.

This event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life, the Departments of International Studies, Judaic Studies, Military Science and Political Science and the Security Studies Certificate Program. This event was initiated by the Clarke Forum’s Student Project Managers

Biographies (provided by the panelists)

David Commins is professor of history and the Benjamin Rush Distinguished Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences at Dickinson College. His publications include Islam in Saudi Arabia, The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia, The Gulf States: A Modern History, Islamic Reform: Politics and Social Change in Late Ottoman Syria, and Historical Dictionary of Syria. He earned his B.A. at the University of California, Berkeley and his Ph.D. from the University of Read more

University of Bremen

The Populist Challenge: Germany and the United States before the Elections

Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Stern Center, Great Room, 8 p.m.

In the run-up to this year’s elections, both the U.S. and Germany are confronted with the phenomenon of a populism that employs anti-establishment and anti-Muslim prejudices in order to maximize votes. This lecture will focus on the similarities and key differences between contemporary populism in Germany and the United States.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Max Kade Foundation and the Department of German. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s stream on the 2016 Presidential Election.

Biography (provided by the speaker)

Lothar Probst is a German political scientist who recently retired from a professorship at the University of Bremen. At Bremen University he was the managing director of the Institute for Intercultural and International Studies and chair of the Department of Research in Elections, Political Parties and Participation at the Institute of Political Science. His central research and teaching interest lies in the area of party and election research. Beyond that he works on theories of democracy, political culture research and the development Read more

Exonerated Death Row Inmates

Innocent on Death Row: The Story of Sunny and Peter

Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Two former death row inmates will discuss how they work together promoting human rights and in opposition to injustice and the death penalty.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and Penn State’s Dickinson Law and co-sponsored by the Division of Student Life, the Department of Sociology and the Program in Policy Studies. It was also initiated by the Clarke Forum Student Project Managers.

Biographies (provided by the speakers)

Sonia “Sunny”Jacobs was wrongfully tried, convicted and sentenced to death in Florida, USA in 1976. She spent five years under sentence of death in solitary confinement before her death sentence was overturned. Her practice of yoga and meditation sustained her through her ordeal. She then spent a further 12 years among the general prison population to whom she began to teach yoga. Her partner, Jesse Tafero, who was also wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death was executed on fourth of May 1990, two years before evidence of their innocence was made known. With the help of lawyers who worked for many years without Read more

Thursday, September 22, 2016
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

Panelists

Mark Duckenfield, U.S. Army War College
Oya Dursun-Ozkanca, Elizabethtown College
Kristine Mitchell (moderator), Dickinson College
This panel of three experts will discuss Britain’s decision to exit the European Union, the forces that led up to it, the process by which the exit will happen, and its international implications.

This event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues.

Panelist Biographies (forthcoming)

Dr. Mark Duckenfield is chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the Army War College.  He has written numerous academic articles on the European Union, British politics and international political economy.  He is the author of the book Business and the Euro: Business Groups and the Politics of Economic and Monetary Union in Britain and Germany (Palgrave, 2006). He has also served as editor/general editor of the volumes The History of Financial Disasters, 1763-1995 (Pickering&Chatto, 2006); and Battles over Free Trade: Anglo-American Experiences with International Trade, 1776-2006 (Pickering&Chatto, 2008). Dr. Duckenfield has given invited lectures on topics ranging from European economic policy, the euro, and financial crisis in the United States, Europe and Asia. He has held teaching appointments at the Read more

Author

Mother’s Day: Song of a Sad Mother

Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Stern Center, Great Room, 7 p.m.

In this talk, German-Romanian author Carmen-Francesca Banciu will read from and speak about her novel, Mother’s Day: Song of a Sad Mother.  Part “bildungsroman,” part autobiographical memoir, Mother’s Day explores mother-daughter relations under the communist dictatorship in Romania and sparks dynamic questions about Eastern Europe, work, the woman artist, and women’s relationships with one another.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Max Kade Foundation and the Department of German.

Biography (provided by the speaker)

Carmen-Francesca Banciu was born in Lipova, Romania and studied Byzantine art and foreign trade in Bucharest. As a result of being awarded the International Short Story Award of the City of Arnsberg for the story “Das strahlende Ghetto” (“The Radiant Ghetto,” 1985), she was banned from publishing her work in Romania. In 1991 she accepted an invitation extended by the DAAD Berlin Artists-in-Residence program and came to Germany. Writer-in-Residence at Rutgers University from 2004-2005 and University of Bath in 2009, Banciu currently lives in Berlin and works as a freelance author and co-editor/deputy director of the transnational, interdisciplinary and Read more

Monday, April 25, 2016
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

After decades of war and oppressive Taliban regime, four Afghan photojournalists face the realities of building a free press in a country left to stand on its own.  Comments by Baktash Ahadi, associate producer and translator for Frame by Frame and Noorjahan Akbar ’14, women’s and human rights’ activist.           

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues.

Frame by Frame Trailer

Biographies (provided by the speakers)

Noorjahan Akbar is an out-spoken women and human right’s advocate from Afghanistan. She has worked with several Afghan and global organizations focusing on women’s social and economic empowerment and ending gender-based violence. She has also led nation-wide campaigns and protests in defense of human rights and continues to write and advocate for equality. Noorjahan has been published on Al Jazeera, and New York Times among other outlets. In the summer of 2013, she published a collection of Afghan women’s writings in a book that was distributed in several provinces in Afghanistan. Currently, she runs a national blog with over 100 Afghan contributors who advocate for gender equality and social justice. Noorjahan is also a keynote speaker on issues relating Read more

This film showing is part of the Movement Matters Film Series. It includes three documentaries that explore dance as a vehicle for social change and personal transformation.

Monday, March 7, 2016
Mathers Theatre, 7 p.m.

From executive producer and rapper Nasir “Nas” Jones and journalist-turned-filmmaker Adam Sjöberg, Shake the Dust chronicles the influence of breakdancing, exploring how it strikes a resonant chord in the slums, favelas and ghettos of the world. Patricia van Leeuwaard Moonsammy, professor of Africana studies, will offer comments following the film-showing.

This film showing is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issue and co-sponsored by the Department of Theatre & Dance and the Department of American Studies.

  Read more

This film showing is part of the Movement Matters Film Series. It includes three documentaries that explore dance as a vehicle for social change and personal transformation.

Monday, February 29, 2016
Stern Center, Great Room, 6 p.m.

Choreographer Allison Orr finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks, and in the unseen men and women who pick up trash.  Filmmaker Andrew Garrison follows Orr as she rides along with Austin sanitation workers to observe and later convince them to perform a most unlikely spectacle.  On an abandoned runway, two dozen trash collectors and their trucks deliver a stunningly beautiful performance. Following the film showing, Andrew Garrison and crane operator Donald Anderson will offer comments and answer questions via Skype.

This film showing is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issue and co-sponsored by the Department of Theatre & Dance and the Center for Sustainability Education.

Trash Dance Trailer

  Read more

Storyteller

This event is part of “Love Your Body Week” and “Let’s Eat!” Click here for LYBW Schedule.

Becoming the Subject of Your Own Story

This event is only open to Dickinson community members.
RSVP required to clarkeforum@dickinson.edu by Thursday, February 18.

Monday, February 22, 2016
Stern Center, Great Room, 5 p.m.

This spoken word performance uncovers the various ways women (and men) cheat the world of their fabulous human potential by focusing too often on appearance, sweetness and popularity. The show does not preach or instruct. Rather, audience members discover their own empowerment through Dark’s funny and personal tales.

Yoga for Every Body

Tuesday, February 23, 2016
HUB Dance Studio, Noon – 1 p.m.

These events are sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Resource Center, Student Senate and the Psychology Club.

Biography (provided by the speaker)

Kimberly Dark is a writer, storyteller and speaker who helps audiences discover that we are creating the world, even as it creates us. She’s the author of five award-winning performance scripts and a number of educational programs regarding the body in culture — how appearances and identities influence our experiences in Read more