Defending Democracy
2023-25 Theme of Inquiry
Join us in exploring the crisis of democracy in the United States by reckoning with problems and considering solutions.
Events
12:30–2:00 p.m.
Stephanie Ternullo, assistant professor in the government department at Harvard, will discuss her new book, How the Heartland Went Red: Why Local Forces Matter in an Age of Nationalized Politics.
How the Heartland Went Red shows how place informs Americans’ partisan attachments through a comparative study of three White, postindustrial cities during the 2020 presidential election. The book argues that we can best understand the reddening of the American Heartland by examining how local contexts have sped up or slowed down White voters’ turn toward the right.
6:00–8:00 p.m.
The free tickets for this event are sold out. Seats that are not claimed by 5:45 will be released on a first-come, first-serve basis. A livestream link will be available soon.
The 2023-24 Lorwin Lecture on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will be presented by award-winning author, educator, and lawyer Anita Hill.
The talk will explore what this committed feminist fighter has learned from her advocacy around issues of gender violence and the perils and promises our current moment holds for "feminist futures."
Hill is a professor of social policy, law, and women’s studies at Brandeis University. Hill’s most recent book is Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence (2021), which is a University of Oregon Common Reading selection for 2023-24.
This is a concluding event to the year-long 50th anniversary celebrations of CSWS and is presented in partnership with the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics. It is cosponsored by the UO Division of Equity and Inclusion, Oregon Humanities Center, and Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.
10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
The Division of Graduate Studies invites you to a one-day conference showcasing the research, scholarship, and creative expressions of UO graduate students. The forum regularly showcases the work of more than 100 students representing more than 35 disciplines. Join us for the popular poster session and the panel presentations!
To participate, all graduate-level students are invited to submit a proposal by April 17, 2024. All accepted posters will be judged. Posters are categorized by field; first place in each category will win $300. Panels will instead be pre-selected. All accepted panels will receive $250 per panelist.
For more information, go to https://graduatestudies.uoregon.edu/forum
6:00–7:30 p.m.
Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist, Pulitzer Prize winner, and best-selling author, will give a talk based on his new book.
Since 1984, Nicholas Kristof has worked almost continuously for The New York Times as a reporter, foreign correspondent, bureau chief, and now columnist, becoming one of the foremost reporters of his generation. Here, he recounts his event-filled path from a small-town farm in Oregon to every corner of the world. Reporting from Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo, while traveling far afield to India, Africa, and Europe, Kristof witnessed and wrote about century-defining events: the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the Yemeni civil war, the Darfur genocide in Sudan, and the wave of addiction and despair that swept through his hometown and a broad swath of working-class America.
Kristof writes about some of the great members of his profession and introduces us to extraordinary people he has met, such as the dissident whom he helped escape from China and a Catholic nun who browbeat a warlord into releasing schoolgirls he had kidnapped. These are the people, the heroes, who have allowed Kristof to remain optimistic. Side by side with the worst of humanity, you always see the best.
Kristof is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, where he was previously bureau chief in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo. He is the coauthor, with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, of five previous books: Tightrope, A Path Appears, Half the Sky, Thunder from the East, and China Wakes. He was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes, one with WuDunn in 1990 for their coverage of China, and the second in 2006 for his columns on Darfur.
This event is part of the Wayne Morse Center's 2023-25 theme of inquiry, Defending Democracy. A book signing will follow the event, and books will be available to purchase.
11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Have you been putting off your writing all year by promising yourself that summer is when you'll buckle down and get it done? Are you finding yourself continuing to procrastinate and avoid your writing even though summer has arrived? Have you ever wondered why it is that you really want to write, but just don't do it until there's a looming external deadline?
In this webinar, you will learn:
- How to identify what's holding you back from writing and completing your ___________ (article, dissertation, book manuscript, grant proposal, etc...)..).
- How to identify what's holding you back from writing and completing your ___________ (article, dissertation, book manuscript, grant proposal, etc...).
- The three most common types of writing funk and how to move around them. - How to create the types community, support and accountability for your writing that will help you to ride through whatever type of writing funk you are currently experiencing.
All UO students have free access to this resource. Please activate your account before logging in. If needed, you can activate your account by visiting this link: https://ow.ly/wyVS50ReGYH and selecting "Is your institution already a member?"
7:00 p.m.–8:30 a.m.
Will Jones, professor of history at the University of Minnesota, will deliver the Bob Bussel Labor History Lecture on April 24, 2025.
The UO Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) created the lecture in recognition of Bob Bussel’s years of service as LERC’s director and an affiliated member of the UO history department. The lecture features historians with a distinguished record of scholarship, a commitment to public history, and an interest in labor and working-class issues. Will Jones is a professor of history at the University of Minnesota with a particular interest in issues of race and class. Professor Jones is the author of two books and numerous articles on labor and working-class history. He is also a past president of the Labor and Working-Class History Association.
News
The Wayne Morse Center awards project grants each year to community organizations, university faculty and departments, and student organizations for projects related to the center’s 2023-25 theme of inquiry, Defending Democracy. Proposals are due on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at noon for the grant year that begins July 1, 2024, and ends June 30, 2025.
Reserve a free ticket for the May 9 Lorwin Lecture on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties presented by award-winning author, educator, and lawyer Anita Hill. This is a concluding event to the year-long 50th anniversary celebrations of CSWS and is presented in partnership with the Wayne Morse Center. Hill was featured in the Oregon Quarterly in advance of her visit.
The Wayne Morse Scholars program provides skills building, service learning, and leadership training to UO undergraduate students interested in public affairs and community engagement. The deadline is Monday, May 20, for the 2024-25 academic year.
Videos of recent events
Democracy: the Challenges Ahead, featuring Rep. Peter DeFazio
How the Supreme Court Lost the American Public, featuring Linda Greenhouse
The 2024 Election: One Year Out
Nice is Not Enough, featuring C.J. Pascoe
View more videos on our YouTube channel