‘Democracy in Peril’ is URI’s Fall 2024 Honors Colloquium topic
With all eyes on the U.S. election this fall, the University of Rhode Island Honors Program presents its 61st annual Honors Colloquium, “Democracy in Peril,” to draw attention to the challenges facing democracy here and abroad and highlight the importance of democratic values and institutions.
This year’s Colloquium will provide an opportunity for
scholars, experts, and the broader community to engage in a thoughtful and
informed dialogue on the meaning and importance of, and risks to, democracy.
Speakers will examine the causes and consequences of democratic backsliding and
discuss ways to work towards building stronger and more resilient democracies
in the 21st century.
Co-coordinator Brian Krueger, associate dean of URI’s College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of political science, said organizers want to highlight democracy as a globally important topic regardless of election season, and that voters of any political affiliation can gain an informed perspective on the issues raised at this year’s program.
“Like the climate crisis, in many ways we are all in this
together,” he says. “We hope to see URI students and community members engaging
with our speakers and the series this fall. This colloquium is for everyone who
cares about democracy.”
This year’s series will feature seven experts who will
examine democracy across the globe and in the United States, the consequences
of democratic erosion, role of political polarization and populism, impact of
democracy disruptors and potential solutions.
The lectures will be held most Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Edwards
Hall, beginning Sept. 17 and running through Nov. 12, one week after the U.S.
presidential election. While all lectures are free and open to the public,
registration is recommended. (The series will take a pause on Election
Day.) Video links to the lectures will be
available on the Honors Colloquium website the day of each event.
This year’s program’s coordinators are Marc Hutchison, chair of URI’s political
science department; assistant professor Ashlea Rundlett, a specialist in political
participation who has published on election fraud; Brian Krueger, associate dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences; and Elizabeth
Mendenhall, a marine affairs associate professor who also teaches in
the political science department.
They hope to foster wide dialogue at this year’s colloquium,
and expand civic knowledge and involvement from students and community members,
and say they have been pleased by interest in the topic on campus already.
“We look forward to welcoming the broader community into
these discussions,” says Karen de Bruin, director of URI’s Honors Program.
The fall colloquium kicks off with Zack
Beauchamp, senior correspondent at Vox and author of the new
book The Reactionary Spirit. He will open the lecture series with a
talk on populism and the crisis of democracy at home and abroad, followed by
Daniel Ziblatt, co-author of the New York Times bestseller How
Democracies Die. From there the schedule will move beyond the U.S. to
threats to democracy world-wide. Christian Davenport will cap the series on
Nov. 12 with a discussion of repression and the decline of global human rights;
he is a founding scholar in the study of state repression, known for his work
on the connection between human rights and democracy.
Krueger says coordinators wanted to host a mix of scholars,
journalists and practitioners. He notes elections are just one key element of
democracy and that the colloquium will explore other factors that maintain or
disrupt democracy, in addition to free and fair elections.
“While many of the speakers will engage with U.S. politics
specifically,” he says, “we have endeavored to highlight democracy as a global
topic.”
Additional community offerings
In addition to the primary speaker series, this year’s
colloquium topic has drawn wide interest and complementary work across campus.
A Community Voter Registration Drive will take place on
campus on Sept. 24.
URI’s Center for the Humanities is hosting a yearlong
lecture series on “Sustaining Democracy,” beginning
Sept. 26, including poet Javier Zamora and Emily Drabinski, recent president of
the American Library Association.
This year’s URI Innovation
and Entrepreneurship Challenge is focusing on democracy as its
2024 theme, inviting students from any major to generate ideas that address
social, political, environmental, and economic problems through democratic
innovation and entrepreneurship.
URI’s Department of Art and Art History will also be
presenting an exhibit on “The Politics of Personality” in Lippitt Hall, opening
Oct. 1. The exhibit will explore the hype and reality of modern politics,
sharing artist perceptions and perspectives on today’s political landscape.
Exhibiting artists include alumni Raphael Díaz and Zoey Stites with Lois
Harada, Jordan Seaberry, Joel Rosario-Tapia, Ana Flores, Don Mays and Anthony
Tomaselli.
The URI Theatre season will begin in
October with Machinal by Sophie Treadwell leading the 2024–25
season, directed by Rachel Walshe.
For the full roster of colloquium speakers and sponsors,
visit the 2024 Honors Colloquium site. The
annual university-wide educational forum is free and open to the public. Sign
up here for more information and
reminders for colloquium events or by emailing urihonors@etal.uri.edu.
