U.S. DEMOCRACY
The Problem OR the Answer
TUE, SEP 17 | 7 PM
STUDENT CENTER BALLROOM
A Special Constitution Day Event
Discover the fascinating origins of the U.S. Constitution with Dr. Michael Klarman, as he discusses the intentions and interests of America's constitutional framers. Gain insights into how compromises shaped this pivotal document and its relevance to democratic legitimacy then and now.
Looking beyond history, we bring the conversation into the present with Dr. Hélène Landemore and Dr. Jason Brennan. They will engage in a lively debate about the strengths and weaknesses of American democracy. Explore whether more democracy or less might offer solutions to some of our nation's most complex political challenges.
This event is perfect for history enthusiasts, political science students, and anyone curious about the foundational principles that guide our government today. Come prepared to expand your understanding and engage in meaningful dialogue about the past, present, and future of American democracy.
Secure your spot for this thought-provoking event! Reserve your spot and join us for an evening of insightful discussions and community engagement.
RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!
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HÉLÈNE LANDEMORE
Yale University Professor
Hélène Landemore is a professor of political science at Yale University with a specialization in political theory. Her research and teaching interests include, among other things, democratic theory, political epistemology, and the ethics and politics of artificial intelligence. She is also a fellow at the Ethics in AI Institute at the University of Oxford, and an advisor to the Democratic Inputs to AI program at OpenAI. She served on the Governance Committee of the most recent French Citizens’ Convention and is currently undertaking work supported by Schmidt Futures through the AI2050 program.
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MICHAEL KLARMAN
Harvard Law School Professor
Professor Michael J. Klarman is the Charles Warren Professor of Legal History at Harvard Law School, where he joined the faculty in 2008. He received his B.A. and M.A. (political theory) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1983, and his D. Phil. in legal history from the University of Oxford (1988), where he was a Marshall Scholar. After law school, Professor Klarman clerked for the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1983–84). He joined the faculty at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987 and served there until 2008 as the James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law and Professor of History.
Klarman has also served as the Ralph S. Tyler, Jr., Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, Distinguished Visiting Lee Professor of Law at the Marshall Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary, Visiting Professor at Stanford Law School, and Visiting Professor at Yale Law School.
Klarman has won numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship, which are primarily in the areas of Constitutional Law and Constitutional History. In 2009 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Klarman’s first book, From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality, was published by Oxford University Press in 2004 and received the 2005 Bancroft Prize in History. He published two books in the summer of 2007, also with Oxford University Press: Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Movement and Unfinished Business: Racial Equality in American History, the latter of which is part of Oxford’s Inalienable Rights series. In 2012, he published From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage. In 2016, Professor Klarman published The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution, which was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize. In 2020, he authored the Foreword to the Harvard Law Review’s annual Supreme Court issue, entitled “The Degradation of American Democracy—and the Court.” Professor Klarman is currently writing a book on Race and Sports in American History
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JASON BRENNAN
Georgetown University Professor
Jason Brennan is the Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University. He is the author of seventeen books, which have been translated thirty-two times into seventeen languages, plus over one hundred peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He is the editor of Public Affairs Quarterly and Associate Editor of Social Philosophy of Policy.
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PEGGY JAMES -MODERATOR
Dean Emeritus of the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies
Dr. Peggy James, Dean Emeritus of the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies, has focused her work on active citizenship, engagement, and voting for over 30 years at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She has a Master of Arts degree focused in Political Science and Government from Marquette University and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
In an effort to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement, student voter registration, election education, and turnout at the polls Peggy created and led the Election Experience Program for the past three presidential elections. This program led to UW-Parkside receiving the Platinum Campus Award in 2018 50% or more students voting in the midterm elections and the Bronze Campus Award in 2020 for student voting rate in a presidential election between 50 – 59% from All in Democracy. Her most recent work, while serving as the Director of the Center for Research in Innovation and Smart Cities, focuses on citizen participation in smart city environments, including survey research in Racine and Kenosha to investigate citizen readiness for technology enabled participation, sponsored by the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership. Following her white paper on “Challenges and Opportunities of Smart Cities and Smart Factories: Foxconn investment in Southeastern Wisconsin.”, she has been actively publishing in innovation and smart cities; the most recent article “ Civic Technology: A Chutes and Ladders Analysis of Transformative Potential” can be found in the Journal of Smart Cities and Society.