Category Social Sciences Forum
The Lottocratic Alternative: Lottery as Method for Selecting Political Representatives
Social Sciences Forum
Alexander Guerrero, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Law, University of Pennsylvania
“The Lottocratic Alternative: Lottery as Method for Selecting Political Representatives”
Thursday, October 6, 4 p.m.
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery
It is widely accepted that electoral representative democracy is better than any other alternative lawmaking political arrangement. It is also widely accepted that the only legitimate alternative to electoral representative democracy is some form of direct democracy, but that this would lead to bad policy. Guerrero argues against both of these assumptions, and considers the prospects for another alternative system — one that uses lotteries, not elections, to select political officials — that he claims would be better than electoral representative democracy. (Click heading for full description.)
Not in My Neighborhood: UMBC New Student Book Experience
Social Sciences Forum
Antero Pietila, Journalist and Author
Thursday, October 13, 7 p.m.
University Center Ballroom
In Antero Pietila’s book Not in My Neighborhood, Baltimore is the setting for one of the most penetrating examinations of bigotry and residential segregation ever published in the United States. Pietila will discuss Baltimore’s history, from its early suburbanization in the 1880s to the consequences of “white flight” after World War II, and into the first decade of the twenty-first century, and how it parallels the complicated histories of other American cities. (Click heading for full description.)
Black Woman Narrative Interrupted: Debunking Mainstream Narratives about Physical Activity
Social Sciences Forum
Rashawn Ray, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park
Tuesday, October 18, 4:30 p.m.
Albin O. Kuhn Library 7th floor
Why are black women in the U.S. more likely to be obese and less physically active than other groups, and what can be done about it? Rashawn Ray has explored this question through intensive qualitative and quantitative research, finding that black women face an assortment of structural and cultural barriers that inhibit their ability to be as physically active as other groups. (Click heading for full description.)
Reassessing Racial Differences: The Perception of Racial Equality in the Obama Era
Social Sciences Forum
Melvin Thomas, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, North Carolina State University, and Hayward Derrick Horton, Associate Professor of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York
Friday, October 28, 2 p.m.
Location to be announced
The election of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States was heralded as a sign that the U.S. had entered a post-racial era. Thomas and Horton explore the perception of racial equality in the Obama era. (Click heading for full description.)
Post-Election Forum
Social Sciences Forum
Donald Norris, Professor and Director, UMBC School of Public Policy; Thomas Schaller, Professor and Chair, UMBC Department of Political Science; and John Fritze, Reporter, The Baltimore Sun
Wednesday, November 9, 4 p.m.
Albin O Kuhn Library 7th floor
An engaging discussion about the 2016 Presidential election – the campaigns, the candidates, the issues, and of course, the election outcomes. (Click heading for full description.)
From Black Lives Matter to the 2016 Elections: The Future of Black Politics
Humanities/Social Sciences Forum — W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture
Cathy J. Cohen, David and Mary Winton Green Professor and Chair, Political Science, the University of Chicago
“From Black Lives Matter to the 2016 Elections: The Future of Black Politics”
Wednesday, November 9, 7 p.m.
University Center Ballroom
With the end of the Obama presidency in sight and the continuation of the Black Lives Matter movement, many wonder what black politics will look like after President Obama leaves office. Cathy Cohen will discuss the future of black politics in light of electoral vs protest tensions, generational differences and an increasing class bifurcation in black communities. (Click heading for full description.)
How did we get here? Women and the 2016 election
Social Sciences Forum
Rebecca Traister, Author
Monday, November 14, 4 p.m.
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery
Rebecca Traister, author of the New York Times bestseller, All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of An Independent Nation and New York Times notable book of 2010, Big Girls Don’t Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women, will discuss women and the 2016 election cycle. (Click heading for full description.)
