Big Ideas to Chew On
In this Issue:
- Panels announced: Perspectives on the 2024 Election
- Promoting civil discourse, respect, and learning
It’s been nothing but rain in Winston-Salem for the last day or more. The rain has been heavy at times, but nothing as bad as our friends on the NC coast had been getting. Sending some ‘get dry’ vibes to all our Deac families who have been soaked.
Today we just have two items for you:
Panels announced: Perspectives on the 2024 Election
I always love election years because they present so many learning moments and opportunities for our students to be civically engaged. There is a series of panel discussions coming up that might be of interest to your Deacs – and one you could attend during Family Weekend:
“The Departments of Economics, History, and Politics & International Affairs, present a new series consisting of three panels. Each panel will feature two speakers: well-known academics or public figures with experience reaching a broader public, who will address relevant topics from multiple points
of view. Open to the university community and the public, this series will expose audiences to multidisciplinary and diverse perspectives on politics from leading scholars and public intellectuals.
Economic Policy in the 2024 Election
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m. in Kulynych Auditorium, Porter Byrum Welcome Center
Panelists: Bobby Kogan (Center for American Progress) and Jim Pethokoukis (American Enterprise Institute)
How We Got Here: Recent Histories of the Democratic & Republican Parties
Friday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. in Annenberg Forum, Carswell Hall Room 111
Panelists: Nicole Hemmer (Vanderbilt University) and Michael Kazin (Georgetown University)
The U.S. Role in the World: Foreign Policy Challenges Facing the Next President
Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. in Kulynych Auditorium, Porter Byrum Welcome Center
Panelists: Rush Doshi (Georgetown University and Council on Foreign Relations) and Emma Ashford (Stimson Center)”
The How We Got Here: Recent Histories of the Democratic & Republican Parties panel is taking place on the Friday of Family Weekend, and our faculty wanted to encourage interested families to attend the panel discussion. If this discussion is up your alley, please take advantage of this opportunity!
Promoting civil discourse, respect, and learning
The learning opportunities above are a great example of how we try to create events that will promote civil discourse, respect, and learning. One of my colleagues in the Provost’s office shared the following info with me:
“We actively foster a culture of respectful dialogue on some of the most pressing social, political, and religious issues of our time. Through thoughtfully curated events and initiatives, we provide platforms where diverse perspectives are heard and explored in a safe and inclusive environment. Please encourage your students to seek out these events.”
I am told that there will something in the neighborhood of 100 events and opportunities that your students can engage in this fall to engage in meaningful conversations about social, political, religious, and cultural issues. I hope some of those events might spur your Deacs on to have what I call the “2 a.m. conversation” – where students get engrossed in a deep conversation about big issues of the day [ideally over late night pizza] and it is such an engaging discussion that they look up and realize it’s 2 a.m. and they have been talking for hours.