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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.

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Events

Oct 11
Defending Democratic Institutions 6:30 p.m.

Tim Alberta is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and staff writer for The Atlantic magazine. In 2019, he published American Carnage: On the...
Defending Democratic Institutions
October 11
6:30–8:00 p.m.
William W. Knight Law Center 175

Tim Alberta is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and staff writer for The Atlantic magazine. In 2019, he published American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump. In November 2023, he will publish a new book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

This event is part of the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics 2023-25 theme, Defending Democracy.

Oct 24
The 17th Annual Rennard Strickland Lecture: Shared Stewardship, with Elizabeth Kronk Warner 6:00 p.m.

Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner will deliver the Rennard Strickland Lecture on Tuesday, October 24th, starting at 6:00 PM, in Room 175 of the University of Oregon School of Law...
The 17th Annual Rennard Strickland Lecture: Shared Stewardship, with Elizabeth Kronk Warner
October 24
6:00 p.m.

Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner will deliver the Rennard Strickland Lecture on Tuesday, October 24th, starting at 6:00 PM, in Room 175 of the University of Oregon School of Law building. Remote participation is available via Zoom. A brief Q&A session and reception will follow the lecture.

The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center established the Rennard Strickland Lecture series to honor the legacy of late Oregon Law dean Rennard Strickland. Strickland was Osage, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and widely regarded as a leader in Indian law and policy. The lecture's focus is Indigenous environmental leadership and community vision for the twenty-first century.

Elizabeth Kronk Warner is the Jefferson B. & Rita E. Fordham Presidential Dean and Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Dean Kronk Warner is a nationally recognized expert in the intersection of Environmental and Indian law. Former supervisor of the Tribal Judicial Support Clinic at the University of Kansas School of Law, she has taught courses in Property, Indian, Environmental, and Natural Resources Law and also teaches and coaches several moot court competition teams. Dean Kronk Warner has received several teaching excellence awards, co-authored several books on envionmental issues and Native Americans, and has over 40 articles and book chapters to her credit. A citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Dean Kronk Warner has served as an appellate judge for the Tribe and as a district judge for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe. Learn more: https://faculty.utah.edu/u6024740-Elizabeth_Kronk_Warner/hm/index.hml

Oct 26
Morse Bookmarks: "Nice Is Not Enough: Inequality and the Limits of Kindness at American High" featuring author C.J. Pascoe 7:00 p.m.

This event features UO Sociology professor C. J. Pascoe discussing her new book, Nice Is Not Enough: Inequality and the Limits of Kindness at American High, which was...
Morse Bookmarks: "Nice Is Not Enough: Inequality and the Limits of Kindness at American High" featuring author C.J. Pascoe
October 26
7:00–8:30 p.m.
William W. Knight Law Center 110

This event features UO Sociology professor C. J. Pascoe discussing her new book, Nice Is Not Enough: Inequality and the Limits of Kindness at American High, which was published in August 2023. 

Nice is Not Enough tells the story of American High School, a school characterized by acceptance, connection, and kindness—a school where, a prominent sign states, “there is no room for hate.” This book describes how American High, like many high schools, uses a “regime of kindness” to address persistent inequalities. By examining how this regime of kindness works at American High, Nice is Not Enough shows the limits of this approach and suggests ways we might begin to dismantle systemic inequalities in high school and beyond. 

Pascoe's research focuses on inequality, youth and schooling. She is an award-winning teacher and associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon where she teaches classes on schools, inequality, social psychology and sexuality. She is also a co-editor of academic journal Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World. Her book, Dude, You’re  a Fag:  Masculinity and Sexuality in High School, won the American Educational Research Association’s 2007 Book of the Year Award as well as an honorable mention for the American Sociological Association's Section on Sex and Gender’s Distinguished Book Award. 

 

Nov 28
How the Supreme Court Lost the American Public 5:30 p.m.

Linda Greenhouse is a Pulitzer Prize-winning legal journalist. She covered the Supreme Court for The New York Times between 1978 and 2008 and is currently...
How the Supreme Court Lost the American Public
November 28
5:30–7:00 p.m.
William W. Knight Law Center 175

Linda Greenhouse is a Pulitzer Prize-winning legal journalist. She covered the Supreme Court for The New York Times between 1978 and 2008 and is currently Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School. 

This event is part of the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politic's 2023-25 theme, Defending Democracy

Videos of recent events

Queer Career: Sexuality and Work in Modern America, featuring Margot Canaday

Gig Economy: Predatory Platforms, Precarious Work

Book Launch and Conversation with Sarita Gupta and Erica Smiley

A Path Forward for Working Oregonians?

View more videos on our YouTube channel

News

This year, 68 students will participate in Wayne Morse Center programs for UO undergraduates, graduate students, and law students. 

Learn more about the Wayne Morse Scholars
Learn more about the Wayne Morse Law Fellows
Learn more about the Wayne Morse Graduate Research Fellows

Check out this piece in the Washington Post coauthored by Dan Tichenor, director of the Wayne Morse Program for Democratic Governance and Philip H. Knight Chair of Social Science; and Alison Gash, UO political science professor. 
We are proud of the Wayne Morse Center alumni who ran for public office this year. Thanks to each of them for taking on the challenges of running and for shaping the public discourse on the campaign trail.

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