Former Political Director of the United Kingdom’s Northern Ireland Office (NIO)

NORTHERN IRELAND: The Long Road to Peace

Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

In 2007, two groups that had hated each other for decades joined together to form a new government for Northern Ireland. Chris Maccabe, former political director of the British government’s Northern Ireland Office, was at the center of the negotiations that brought to an end forty years of sectarian murder and paramilitary terrorism (the “Troubles”) in an area sharply divided by religion, class, and nationalism.

Topical Background
In 1920, near the end of the Irish War of Independence, the British parliament divided the Irish isle in two, establishing a home rule government in each part. The six northeastern counties of the isle became Northern Ireland; the southern twenty-six counties eventually became the independent Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland remains within the United Kingdom (UK) today.

Since this division of the Irish isle, Irish nationalists, organized in a political party, Sinn Féin, and a paramilitary organization, the Irish Republican Army (IRA), have fought for uniting Ireland into an independent, thirty-two-county Irish republic. The unionists of Northern Ireland, organized in political parties, such as Read more

Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and American Studies, Emory University

Against Forgiveness

Thursday, April 22, 2010
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Drawing on philosophy, religion, psychology, medicine, political theory, and law, this lecture begins with the explosion of contemporary popular and scholarly concern with forgiveness in both personal and social settings. It analyzes the behavioral and affective nature of forgiveness and charts recent changes in our understanding of forgiveness from the largely theological and ethical to the primarily psychological and medical. These consequences, and the serious practical problems they involve, are considered in the context of atrocities often characterized as unforgivable. The lecture concludes by raising critical questions about the consequences of this change for justice and for hope in the face of atrocities, and for our understanding of ourselves. Through this criticism, the lecture points at an ethics and politics that would be beyond forgiveness.

This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of Philosophy, Psychology and Religion.

About the Speaker
John J. Stuhr is the Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and American Studies and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Emory University. He received his B.A. from Carleton College—a very selective liberal arts Read more

Documentary Film Director and Producer

The Obama Election

Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

By the People: The Election of Barack Obama is a behind-the-scenes documentary of the Obama campaign. Director Alicia Sams will discuss the making of the film and the insights she gained from being on the campaign trail with the candidate, organizers and the traveling press.

Co-sponsored by the Departments of Political Science and Film Studies.

About the Speaker
Alicia Sams has extensive experience working in both documentary and fiction films. Her most recent film as director is By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, which chronicles the journey of Barack Obama from before the announcement of his Presidential campaign to the White House, and premiered on HBO in November, 2009. Also released in 2009 was the award-winning narrative feature AMREEKA, for which she was executive producer. In 2006, she produced two feature-length documentaries: Wanderlust, a film about road movies for IFC; and the theatrical release Toots, about legendary NY saloonkeeper Toots Shor. Prior to that, she produced the Sony Pictures Classics release Grateful Dawg, independent documentary Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen’s (released by Read more

El Colegio de al Frontera Norte, Tijuana

The “Fence”: The View from Tijuana

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

The United States is building one, two, three or more walls and “other obstacles” in the southwest border. Customs and Border Protection claim, “New dangers face the borders of our nation.” Terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal immigrants are waiting to cross the border.
Co-sponsored by the Departments of Latin American Studies and Spanish and Portuguese.

Topical Background
Founded in 1982, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, or “The College of the Northern Border,” serves as both an institute of higher education and a prominent think tank. With headquarters in Tijuana, Mexico, the institution has branches throughout Mexico in Monterrey, Ciudad Juarez, Mexicali, Nogales, Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo, and Matamoros. Its mission is threefold:

1.Study and divulge the significance of regional issues occurring in the U.S.-Mexico border

2.Train students and staff to excel as professionals and researchers

3.Maintain close links with civil society and government to contribute to the development of the region and the country

In the classroom, students at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte learn extensively about issues surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border in six different Read more

U.S. District Court Judge, Washington, D.C.

Guantanamo: Constitutional Challenges

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

* This event is part of the Clarke Forum’s series on Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty.

As the first federal judge to conduct habeas corpus proceedings to determine the lawfulness of the detention of the Guantanamo detainees, Judge Leon had to confront many practical and legal challenges as he tried to strike the proper balance between liberty and national security.

Topical Background

September 2001: Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Congress passes The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)
This resolution grants the executive branch power to use all “necessary and appropriate force” against those associated with terrorism, particularly those related to the September 11 attacks.

January 2002: United States opens detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay
The Bush administration argues the camp falls outside of U.S. legal jurisdiction, and the detainees, known as “enemy combatants,” are not protected by the Geneva Convention.

June 2004: Supreme Court decides Rasul v. Bush
Supreme Court declares that habeas corpus rights (the right to claim wrongful imprisonment) apply to Guantanamo detainees because the United States has “complete jurisdiction” of Guantanamo Bay.

June 2004: Read more

Professor of anthropology and American studies, New York University

Shop ‘Til You Drop in Puerto Rico?

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Dávila will explore the consumption culture of Puerto Rico, in particular, the myth of the overspent Puerto Rican consumer.

Co-sponsored by the Departments of American Studies, Latin American Studies and Spanish and Portuguese.

Topical Background
Shortly after Columbus visited Puerto Rico, Spain colonized the island and established it as an important military and trading post. Soon thereafter, colonists began to coerce natives into a system of forced labor that was slavery in all but name. Sugar quickly became the most important agricultural product. Although the system of forced labor was formally abolished in 1720, sugar remained a significant export for Puerto Rico, along with cattle, tobacco and coffee.

During the 19th century, Puerto Ricans were clamoring for independence. In response, Spain conceded political and administrative autonomy to the Puerto Rican Autonomous Party in 1887. However, after the Mexican War, the Treaty of Paris called for the transfer of Puerto Rico’s sovereignty to the United States. At this time, Puerto Rico and the United States enjoyed a free trade relationship. In 1917, President Wilson signed Read more