2024-2025 Annual Theme – Alternative Models

Having two directors is a novelty for the Clarke Forum and while we are still experimenting with this new approach, our events for the current year explore a range of alternative models that offer possibilities beyond the mainstream, investigate roads not taken and propose solutions expanding the traditional, be it in science and technologies, art and humanities, or business and politics. How can unconventional ideas reframe critical questions and promote innovative perspectives on contemporary issues?

Monday, April 7, 2025

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Livestream Link

The Revitalization of the American Indian Food System

Michael Kotutwa Johnson, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Resilience at the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment

Since time immemorial, Indigenous people, like those in the United States, gathered and hunted their own food unimpeded. The crops they grew and wild plants they collected were vital to their survival in the many places where they resided. However, through various federal policies, most American Indian tribes no longer have access to traditional foods and have become almost entirely dependent on federal food programs. As a result, you have higher than usual rates of diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. For example, a tribe in Arizona has been documented to have the highest rate of diabetes in the Globe. My talk will focus on my research to help develop solutions to the lack of traditional foods by calling for the Revitalization of the American Indian Food System. I will also lay out the cultural aspects demonstrating that these foods are not just viewed as commodities for Indigenous people but an integral part of who they are and the places where they are Read more

Monday, November 18, 2024

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

 

Reinventing Germany, Again and Again

Janine Ludwig, cultural historian of East Germany
Anne Rabe, playwright and novelist
Matthias Rogg, historian and colonel in the German army
Antje Pfannkuchen (moderator), co-director, Clarke Forum

The history of modern Germany has forced continuous reorientations. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany and the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall the panelists will discuss today’s Germany and its global position.

This Clarke Forum event represents our Germany on Campus program, co-sponsored by the German Embassy Washington DC, the Max Kade Foundation, and the Department of German. In addition, it is part of the Clarke Forum’s Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series which is supported by the Churchill Fund and it’s annual theme, Alternative Models.

Topic overview written by Noah Salsich ’25

Biographies (provided by the speakers)

Janine Ludwig photoJanine Ludwig is a literary scholar, also Vice Head of the Institute for Cultural German Studies (ifkud), and Chairwoman of the International Heiner Müller Society. Ludwig studied Contemporary German Literature, Philosophy, and Theater Studies/Cultural Communication. She is an expert on East German and post-war literature, but also an academic all-rounder. Read more

Tuesday, October 8, 2024 – The Morgan Lecture

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 6 p.m.

The Morgan Lecture

The Black Birthing Crisis: Why Understanding Slavery & Gynecology Helps Us All

Deirdre Cooper Owens,  associate professor of history and Africana studies at the University of Connecticut

For decades, the United States has been the most dangerous high-income earning nation for pregnant Black women and birthing people. The current birthing crisis didn’t originate in a vacuum. With roots in colonial America, medical doctors and surgeons exceptionalized Black women’s medical experiences and lives throughout slavery and Jim Crow. Cooper Owens will present on the layered history of American slavery, the birth of gynecology, and the current U.S. birthing crisis offering insights and possible solutions to end this state of emergency. A book sale and signing will follow the presentation.

The program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the departments of Africana studies, history, women’s, gender & sexuality studies and the Women’s & Gender Resource Center. This program was initiated by the Clarke Forum’s student project managers. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s annual theme, Alternative Models.

Topic overview written by Shayna Herzfeld ’25

Biography (provided by the speaker)

Deirdre Cooper Owens is an Read more

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Livestream Link

Program is Part of the Dialogues Across Differences Project 

A New Divide – The Possibility for Dialogue

Manu Meel, CEO of BridgeUSA

Since its founding in 2018, BridgeUSA has become the largest and fastest growing student movement in the country empowering young people to engage in constructive dialogue and healthy disagreement to improve our democracy. With over 60 college and 20 high school chapters and a network engaging 10,000 students, the journey of building BridgeUSA has led Manu to uncover some hidden truths about the possibility for constructive dialogue at one of the most divided times in American history.

This lecture will outline how students, faculty, and administrators can leverage BridgeUSA’s learnings to facilitate constructive dialogue and difficult conversations on campus. The possibility for a more pluralistic and open-minded future is strong- this lecture will posit how Dickinson College can help lead the way.

This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and is part of the Dialogues Across Differences Project, which is funded by a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. In addition, it is part of the Clarke Forum’s Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series Read more

Tuesday, September 17, 2024 – Winfield C. Cook Constitution Day Conversation

Picturing the Constitution PosterAnita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Light refreshments available in the lobby prior to the program from 6 – 6:50 p.m.

Livestream Link

Winfield C. Cook Constitution Day Conversation

Picturing the Constitution: Curators, Artists and Scholars in Conversation

Katherine Gressel, Curator
Bang Geul Han, Artist
Steven Mazie, Constitutional Expert

How can artists help enhance our understanding of the United States Constitution, its interpretations throughout history, and our own political participation? Join Katherine Gressel, curator of the 2023 Picturing the Constitution exhibition at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn, participating artist Bang Geul Han, and Supreme Court correspondent and political scientist Steven Mazie for a joint presentation and panel discussion focused on artists’ responses to the United States Constitution, including its origins, contents, and interpretations. All artists are engaged in interpreting the world around them. This panel will explore the value of creatively applying interpretive tools to the Constitution as a document of ever-evolving meaning. 

Picturing the Constitution featured artists’ responses to the United States Constitution, including its origins, contents, and interpretations. Installations, workshops and performances in diverse media by 17 artists and art teams asked: to what extent do these founding documents still serve us (equitably)? What could we add Read more