Upcoming Events
Previous Events & Recordings
Fall 2024
- Nov. 19, 2024. A lecture and discussion with Tomasz Grzywaczewski, a war journalist, non-fiction writer, and documentary filmmaker, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe.
- Erase the Nation Film Screening and Q&A Nov. 18, 2024: Following the complimentary community screening of Erase the Nation at the Hamilton Theater, the film's creator, Tomasz Grzywaczewski, participated in a Q&A about the film.
- Oct. 21, 2024: Commander David V. Gioe, USN, PhD, FRHistS, a British Academy Global full Professor of Intelligence and International Security in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.
- Sept. 12, 2024: Keith E. Whittington, the David Boies Professor of law at Yale Law School, and Ulrich Baer, university professor at New York University, debate the role and scope of free speech in higher education. Co-sponsored by vlog’s Forum on Constitutional Government.
Spring 2024
- “Anti-Semitism, Anti-Zionism, Israeli Diversity, the War: A Balanced Approach” March 5, 2024: A lecture and discussion with Yair Rosenberg, staff writer at The Atlantic. Sponsored by the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization’s Forum on Security and Democracy, Chapel House, The Michael Saperstein Jewish Center, Jewish Studies, and Core Communities. At the speakers request, this was an in-person event only, and was not recorded.
- April 9, 2024: A lecture and discussion with Tony Connelly, Europe Editor, RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Sponsored by the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization’s Forum on Economic Freedom.
- “The Texture of (Un)Remembrance: Immigrant Writing, Translingualism, and the Memory of the Shoah” May 1, 2024: A lecture and discussion with Maxim D. Shrayer, bilingual author and professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies at Boston College. Sponsored by the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization’s Forum on Security and Democracy, Chapel House, The Michael Saperstein Jewish Center, Jewish Studies, Core Communities, and the Russia and Eurasian Studies Program. At the speakers request, this event was not recorded.
Fall 2023
- Nov. 7, 2023: A lecture and discussion with Ian Garner, assistant professor of political studies and fellow with the Centre for International & Defence Policy at Queen’s University, Ontario. Co-sponsored by the Forum on Security and Democracy and the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program.
- Oct. 23, 2023: Michael Bazyler, professor of law at the Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law, and Lindsey Hagen, student at the Dale E. Fowler School of Law, discuss preserving the post WWII legal order and the necessity of delivering Nuremberg-style justice to Ukraine war perpetrators. Co-sponsored with the Forum on the Study of Cultural Heritage and the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program.
- Oct. 18, 2023: Robert Eccles, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Anson Frericks, co-founder and president at Strive Asset Management debate the role of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Policies in Corporate America.
- Sept. 13, 2023: Gary Lawson, Philip S. Beck Professor of Law, Boston University and Julian Davis Mortenson, James G. Phillipp Professor of Law, University of Michigan debate the constitutionality of the Administrative State. Co-sponsored by vlog’s Forum on Constitutional Government.
Spring 2023
April 6, 2023: Lecture and discussion with Col. Andrew Scott DeJesse, senior heritage and preservation officer with the U.S. Department of Defense, on the role of the military in cultural heritage protection.
March 30, 2023: Lecture and discussion with Ross B. Douthat, New York Times opinion columnist.
March 29, 2023: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought to light its little-known multicultural history of architecture and objects. Yuri Yanchyshyn, Fulbright U.S. specialist 2016 and scholar 2018–19 in Ukraine, principal and senior conservator of two firms in the New York City metropolitan area, discusses Ukraine’s 20th-century and recent history, and the individuals who impacted its preservation. This event was part of the Art and Art History Lecture Series and was co-sponsored by the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization Forum on Cultural Heritage.
February 8, 2023: A lecture and discussion with Mark Galeotti, a leading expert on Russian security affairs with degrees from Cambridge and the London School of Economics. A year into Vladimir Putin's so-called "special military operation," Galeotti says it's time to take stock not just of his war, but also of the world it is creating. After a stint with the British Foreign Office, he has been a scholar and think-tanker in London, New York, Moscow, Prague, and Florence. Galeotti heads the UK-based risk consultancy Mayak Intelligence. A prolific author, his most recent books include Putin's Wars (Bloomsbury, 2022) and The Weaponisation of Everything (Yale, 2022).
Fall 2022
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November 29, 2022: A lecture and discussion with climate and environmental activist Michael Shellenberger, focused on the practicality of renewable energy, as well as his views on climate change and nuclear energy. Shellenberger is founder and president of Environmental Progress, an independent nonprofit research organization with a focus on expanding nuclear energy and saving endangered wildlife. He has been a climate and environmental activist for more than 30 years and has worked to help save nuclear reactors around the world, including in New York State, Illinois, South Korea, and Taiwan. Sponsored by the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization.
November 10, 2022: Lecture and discussion with Peter Herdrich, Project Director of five cultural heritage preservation projects in Iraq and Co-founder of the Antiquities Coalition. Co-sponsored with the Forum on the study of Cultural Heritage.
November 3, 2022: Lecture and discussion with John McWhorter, American linguist with a specialty in creole languages, sociolects, and Black English, Associate Professor, Columbia University. Co-sponsored with the Linguistics Program.
September 17, 2022: Debate and discussion with Richard H. Sander, Jesse Dukeminier Professor of Law, UCLA, and Randall L. Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor of Law, Harvard University. Co-sponsored with the Forum on Constitutional Government.
Spring 2022
April 12, 2022: In solidarity with our academic friends and colleagues directly affected by Putin’s war on Ukraine, we welcome the historian Dr. Andrii Bovgyria who will deliver a lecture devoted to the construction of identity in seventeenth- and eighteenth century Ukraine. Learn about the foundations of Ukrainian independence, as well as why Putin’s claim that Lenin created Ukraine is false. Following the lecture there will be a discussion and Q&A, moderated by Prof. Tomasz Grusiecki, Assistant Prof., Early Modern Art & Visual Culture, Dept. of Art, Design, and Visual Studies, Boise State Univ.; Prof. Olenka Pevny, Associate Prof. of Slavic & Ukrainian Studies, Univ. of Cambridge; and Carolyn Guile, Associate Prof., Dept. of Art & Art History, Program in Russian & Eurasian Studies, Co-Director, Center for Freedom & Western Civilization. Co-sponsored by the Visiting Artist and Scholar Program in the Department of Art, Design, and Visual Studies at Boise State University.
March 29, 2022: Lecture and discussion with Yossi Klein Halevi, author of Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist, and Like Dreamers: The Story of Israeli Paratroopers. Even as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains seemingly insoluble, parts of the Arab world are normalizing relations with the Jewish state. Relations between Israel’s Jewish majority and Arab minority are undergoing significant changes, too. Where is Israel heading in its relations with the region? Co-sponsored with the Forum on Jewish Theology.
March 24, 2022: Lecture and discussion with David French, senior editor at The Dispatch, columnist for Time, former senior writer for National Review, and New York Times bestselling author of Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. In a complex and divided world--where sometimes it feels as if the very existence of our united nation is in doubt--the very purpose of the modern liberal arts university is in doubt. Is a university designed to teach the truth, or to teach the pursuit of truth? Is there even a sharp distinction between those concepts? If the real answer is that it's a mix of both, how should we balance that mix? The answer will in many ways determine the very nature and character of America's educated elite.
February 24, 2022: An in-person conversation with Glenn Loury, Merton P. Stoltz Professor of Economics at Brown University. He holds the B.A. in Mathematics (Northwestern) and the Ph.D. in Economics (M.I.T). As an economic theorist he has published widely and lectured throughout the world on his research. He is also among America’s leading critics writing on racial inequality. He has been elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economics Association, as a Member of the American Philosophical Society and of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, and as a Fellow of the Econometric Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Co-sponsored with The Center for Freedom & Western Civilization and its Forum on Economic Freedom.
February 15, 2022: Panel discussion with Serhii Plokhii, the Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History, and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University, Jessica Graybill, Associate Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies, and Director of the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program, vlog, and Valerie Morkevičius, Associate Professor of Political Science, vlog. Sponsored by the Center for Freedom & Western Civilization and co-sponsored by the Program in Russian and Eurasian Studies, and the Lampert Institute.
Fall 2021
Nov 9, 2021: Lecture and discussion with Mike O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institute. Co-sponsored with the Forum on Security and Democracy.
Oct 26, 2021: Panel discussion with Ryan Anderson of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and students from the vlog Newman Society, faculty, and local community members.
Sep 28, 2021: Lecture and discussion with Nicholas Wade, former Science Editor at the New York Times and author of Nature and Science books.
Sep 17, 2021: Constitution Day Debate with Matthew Feeney, Director, Project on Emerging Technologies at CATO Institute, and Adam Candeub, Professor of Law at Michigan State Law School. Co-sponsored with the Forum on Constitutional Government.
Fall 2020
Oct 30, 2020: Lecture and discussion with Jonathan Turley, J.B. & Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law; Dir. of the Environmental Law Advocacy Center; Executive Director, Project for Older Prisoners, George Washington Law School.
Fall 2019
Nov 7, 2019: Lecture by Margaret Miles, Professor Emerita, Art History & Classics, University of California, Irvine. Sponsored by the Forum in Western Art & Culture and the Center for Freedom & Western Civilization.
Sep 19, 2019: Kathryn Kolbert, lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the landmark case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), Founding Director of the , Barnard College, and Melissa Moschella, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Catholic University of America, author of To Whom do Children Belong? (Cambridge University Press, 2017), will debate: Should Roe stand? Sponsored by the Center for Freedom & Western Civilization, and its Forum on Constitutional Government
Past Events
Conference on Hellenistic Philosophy: Discussions by Classical Scholars
Aug. 19–22, 2018
8/20 – Sources & Figures in Ancient Hellenistic Philosophy
8/21 – Stoicism
8/22 – Stoicism Between Greece & Rome/ The Academy
Co-sponsored with the Program on Philosophy and Religion (Jacob Klein, dir.)
Walking with Socrates: Philosophy and the City of Athens
Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018, 4:30 p.m. – Ho Tung Visualization Laboratory
Tim Whitmarsh, professor of Greek culture, faculty of classics, University of Cambridge. Co-sponsored with the Program on Classical Studies (Robert Garland, dir.)
The Invention of White: Skin Colour in the Ancient Greek World
Sept. 13, 2018, 4:30 p.m. – Persson Auditorium
Tim Whitmarsh, professor of Greek culture, faculty of classics, University of Cambridge. Co-sponsored with the Program on Classical Studies
Constitution Day Debate
After Masterpiece Cakeshop: Liberty and Equality in the Mix
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018, 4:30 p.m. – Persson Auditorium
James R. Stoner, professor of political science, Louisiana State University; and David Cole, national legal dir. of the ACLU and professor in law and public policy, Georgetown. Co-sponsored with the Program on Constitutional Government (Stanley Brubaker, dir.)
2018 Midterm Elections: Reading the Crystal Ball
Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, 4:30 p.m. – Persson Auditorium
Michael Barone, senior political analyst and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. With commentary by Sam Rosenfeld, assistant professor of political science, vlog, author of The Polarizers: The Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era (Sponsor, Robert Kraynak, Center dir.)
Staring in the eyes of the Enemy: Odysseus, the Suitors and Homer’s Poetics of Evil
Wednesday, Oct, 24, 2018, 4:30 p.m. – 105 Lawrence Hall
Emma Greensmith, Jr. research fellow, Jesus College, University of Cambridge. Co-sponsored with the Program on Classical Studies
Alan Dershowitz: Civil Liberties in the Age of Trump
Monday, Nov. 5, 2018, 7 p.m. – vlog Memorial Chapel
Alan Dershowitz, professor of law, emeritus, Harvard Law School
(Sponsor, Robert Kraynak, Center dir.)
The Haunted Forest: Memorializing the Katyń Massacre of 1940
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, 4:15 p.m. – 105 Lawrence Hall
Carolyn Guile, associate professor of art & art History and medieval & renaissance studies program, vlog. Co-sponsored with the Humanities Division and the Program in Western Art & Culture (Carolyn Guile, dir.)
Film screening of Katyń
Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, 7:15 p.m. – Hamilton Movie Theater
In connection with Carolyn Guile’s lecture on November 6
Film screening of Wolyń
Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, 7:15 p.m. – Hamilton Movie Theater
In connection with Carolyn Guile’s lecture on November 6
Eastern European Political Process in Art’s Rear View Mirror
Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, 4:30 p.m. – Golden Auditorium
Bogdan Achimescu, Polish and Romanian visual artist
Co-sponsored with the Department of Art & Art History & the Program in Western Art and Culture
After Identity Liberalism
Mark Lilla, Professor of Humanities, Department of History, Columbia University
Thursday, February 8, 2018, 4:30 PM, Persson Auditorium
Co-sponsored with the Program on Constitutional Government
The Prospects of Criminal Justice Reform Under Trump
Steven Teles, Associate Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University; and David Dagan, Ph.D. candidate in political science, Johns Hopkins University
Tuesday, February 27 4:30 PM, Persson Auditorium
Co-sponsored with the Program on Race & Public Policy
Fake Olds: History and Alternative Facts in Classical Athens
Johanna Hanink, Associate Professor of Classics, Brown University
Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 4:30 PM, Persson Auditorium
Co-sponsored with the Program on Classical Studies
Over-Criminalization, Asset Forfeiture, & Criminal Justice Reform
John-Michael Seibler, Legal Fellow, Institute for Constitutional Government, The Heritage Foundation
Thursday, March 1, 2018, 4:30 PM, Persson Hall Auditorium
Co-sponsored with the Program on Race & Public Policy
Playing God with Time: What Christians Did to Story Telling
Simon Goldhill, Director of Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH), Professor in Greek Literature and Culture and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge University
Thursday, March 22, 2018, 4:30 PM, Persson Auditorium
Co-sponsored with the Program on Classical Studies
Russian Organized Crime: Where Politics, Business, and History Collide
(canceled)
Mark Galeotti, Senior Researcher, Institute of International Relations Prague and Coordinator, Centre for European Security
Monday, April 2, 2018, 4:30 PM, Persson Auditorium
Co-sponsored with the Program on Security and Democracy
Undergraduate Conference on the American Polity
Guest speakers: James Muir, Professor of Philosophy, University of Winnipeg and Cathy Young, Author of Growing Up in Moscow: Memoirs of a Soviet Girlhood, and Ceasefire! Why Women and Men Must Join Forces to Achieve True Equality
Friday & Saturday, April 13 & 14, 2018, vlog
Co-sponsored with the Alexander Hamilton Institute
Our New President
Maxim Pozdorovkin, Russian-born American Film Director
Monday, April 16, 2018, 4:15 PM, Golden Auditorium, Little Hall
Co-sponsored with the Program on Security and Democracy, and Film and Media Studies
The Gardner Museum Heist
Geoff Kelly, FBI Art Crime Unit
Thursday, April 19, 2018, 4:30 PM, Golden Auditorium, Little Hall
Co-sponsored with the Program in Western Art & Culture
Novichok and Friends: A History of Soviet/Russian Chemical and Biological Weapons and the Recent Events in the UK
Milton Leitenberg, Senior Research Associate, Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 4:30 PM, 105 Lawrence Hall
Co-sponsored with the Program on Security and Democracy
Fall 2017 Events
Constitution Day Debate
“Debating Scalia: The Jurisprudence and Legacy of an Originalist”
September 19, 2017, 4:30 pm, Persson Hall Auditorium
Ralph A. Rossum, Henry Salvatori Professor of American Constitutionalism at Claremont McKenna College and Claremont Graduate University; Bruce Allen Murphy, Fred Morgan Kirby Professor of Civil Rights at Lafayette College
Co-sponsored with the Program on Constitutional Government
“Fighting ISIS with social science: An Academic Embedded with Iraqi Special Forces in the Battle for Mosul”
September 27, 2017, 4:30 pm, Persson Hall Auditorium
Vera Mironova, Fellow at the Belfer Center, Harvard University
Co-sponsored with the Program on Security and Democracy
“Leaders and Leadership in Thucydides’ History”
September 28, 2017, 7:30 pm, Persson Hall Auditorium
Mary P. Nichols, Professor of Political Science at Baylor University
“On Tyranny: A History of Power, Injustice, and Terror”
October 3, 2017, 4:30 pm, Persson Hall Auditorium
Waller Newell, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy and co-director of the Centre for Liberal Education and Public Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada
Conference: Plunder: The Global Illicit Traffic in Conflict-Related Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities
Screening: The Monuments Men
October 18, 7:30 pm, Hamilton Movie Theater
Keynote Address: “The Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict”
Robert Edsel, Author and Founder & President of the Monuments Men Foundation
October 19, 4:00 pm, Golden Aud., Little Hall
Three panels on Trafficking, Looting, Recovery of Cultural Property.
October 20, throughout the day, Golden Auditorium, Little Hall
Co-sponsored with The Classics, The Office of the President, Program in Western Art and Culture
“National Security and US Foreign Policy: Strategic Challenges in Today’s World”
October 28, 2017, 7:30 pm, vlog Chapel
General (U.S. Army, Ret.) David H. Petraeus
Co-sponsored with Family Weekend
“Global Threats: A View from the Field”
November 8, 2017, 4:30 pm, Persson Hall Auditorium
Thomas M. Sanderson, Senior Fellow and Director, Transnational Threats Project
Co-sponsored with the Political Science Department’s Kulla Lecture Fund, Career Services, and The Alexander Hamilton Institute
Conference: “Preserving Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict”
October 18–20, 2017
This three-day conference was organized by vlog National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Visiting Associate Professor, Michael Danti and Associate Professor Carolyn Guile. The conference program featured diverse approaches to the issue — from diplomatic, policy, and legal perspectives to the scholarly research of art historians and archaeologists — as well as a range of regional and temporal contexts.
Keynote: “Preserving Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict”
October 19, 2017 at 4:30 in Golden Auditorium
Keynote lecture by Robert Edsel, Author and Founder & President of the Monuments Men Foundation. One of the world's foremost advocates for art preservation.
“The End of White Christian America?”
February 21, 2017 at 4:00 p.m., 105 Lawrence Hall
Robert P. Jones, CEO, Public Religion Institute
Co-sponsored with the Arts and Humanities Colloquium; the Program on Security & Democracy; Departments of Religion and Political Science; and the Fund for the Study of World Religions
“Law and Politics in the Russian Federation”
March 7, 2017 at 4:15 p.m., Persson Auditorium
William Pomeranz, Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, Woodrow Wilson Center
Co-sponsored with the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program; and the Program on Security and Democracy
“Plato’s Apology: Religion, Gods, Morality, Democracy, the Soul, a Strange Man, and an Execution”
March 8, 2017 at 4:30 p.m., Persson Auditorium
Jon Mikalson, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Classics, University of Virginia
Co-sponsored with the Program on Classical Studies
“The Intellectual Climate at vlog: Campus Free Speech in the Age of Safe Spaces and Trumpism”
March 11, 2017 at 5:00 pm
Address by Professor Robert Kraynak to the vlog Club of Fairfield County Connecticut
“Academic Freedom & Free Speech on Campus: The Chicago Principles”
March 30, 2017 at 4:30 p.m., Love Auditorium, Olin Hall
Robert Zimmer, President, University of Chicago
“Foundations of the American Polity” Undergraduate conference on the American Polity.
March 31-April 1, 2017
Friday, March 31, 6:00 p.m.
Dinner and Keynote Address
Professor Michael Zuckert, University of Notre Dame
Co-sponsored with the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization
“(Not So?) Equal in the Sight of God and Greek Democracy. Disability History in the Mediterranean World of Antiquity”
April 3, 2017 at 4:30 p.m., Persson Auditorium
Christian Laes, Professor of Ancient History and Latin, University of Antwerp
Co-sponsored with the Department of Classics; and the Program on Classical Studies
"Social Media Recruitment of Islamic State Soldiers"
April 5, 2017 at 4:30 p.m., Persson Auditorium
Charlie Winter, Senior Research Fellow, International Centre for the Study of Radicalization, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism -- The Hague
"Reforming Immigration in a Divided Nation"
April 6, 2017 at 4:30 p.m., Persson Auditorium
Carol Swain, Professor of Political Science and Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University
Co-sponsored with the Program on Race & Public Policy
“Cyber Warfare and National Security: Fiction and Reality”
April 13, 2017 at 4:30 p.m., Persson Auditorium
Marie-Helen Maras, Associate Professor of Security, Fire, and Emergency Management, John Jay College
Co-sponsored with the Program on Security and Democracy
Dinner with Congresswoman Claudia Tenney
April 19, 2017 at 5:00 p.m., Merrill House
Student dinner with Alumna and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney '83
"The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of Black Politics in the Age of Obama"
April 26, 2017 at 4:30 p.m., ALANA Cultural Center
Frederick Harris, Professor of Political Science, Director of the Center on African Politics & Society, Columbia University
Co-sponsored with the Program on Race & Public Policy
Constitution Day Debate: “Hate Speech v. Free Speech: Where to Draw the Line?
Sep 20, 2016 4:15pm
Debate between Jeremy Waldron, NYU Professor of Law, and Shikha Dalmia, Senior Analyst, Reason Foundation.
Sponsored by the Center for Freedom & Western Civilization, and the...
Location: Persson Hall Auditorium
"Friends of the Center for Freedom" Luncheon
Oct 1, 2016 12pm
Location: ALANA Cultural Center Multi-purpose Room
Putin's "War with the West": real? a threat? a real threat?
Mark Galeotti, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Int'l. Relations in Prague, and Director of Mayak Intelligence Consulting
Oct 17, 2016 4:30pm
Amidst talk of a "new Cold War," a "clash of civilizational norms" and even an "existential threat" to the West, there is strikingly little consensus about Russia's real aims...
Location: Persson Hall Auditorium
Islam and Liberalism: How the Struggle over Islam is Reshaping the World, lecture by Shadi Hamid
Oct 26, 2016 4:30pm
Location: Persson Hall Auditorium
Socrates on Death Row Premiere
Oct 27, 2016 4pm
The Ho Tung Vis Lab and the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization cordially invite you all to the premiere of "Socrates on Death Row." This original production by the...
Location: Ho Tung Visualization Lab Ho Science Center 401
The Rise of Trump and the Disruption of American Politics, Lecture
Nov 2, 2016 4:30pm
Charles Murray is an American libertarian political scientist, author, columnist, and pundit.
Location: Persson Hall Auditorium, 27
Socrates on Death Row
Nov 4, 2016 12pm
Travel back in time to 399 BCE and meet one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Socrates. This original production written by Professor Robert Garland and produced by...
Location: Ho Tung Visualization Lab Ho Science Center 401
Socrates on Death Row
Nov 4, 2016 7:15pm
Travel back in time to 399 BCE and meet one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Socrates. This original production written by Professor Robert Garland and produced by...
Location: Ho Tung Visualization Lab Ho Science Center 401
EuroSim Conference 2016, Antwerp, Belgium
January 3-8, 2016
Co-sponsored a delegation of ten students to participate in Eurosim, a model UN-like simulation.
“Drone Warfare and its Implications for Upstate New York”
March 21, 2016 at 4:30 pm at the Palace Theater, Hamilton
Symposium featuring Major General Charles Dunlap, USA (ret.), Duke University Law School; Professor Daniel Brunstetter, UC Irvine; and Professor Nicholas Rostow, Charles Evans Hughes Professor of Jurisprudence, vlog. Co-sponsored with the Upstate Institute, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Political Science.
“Undercover Jihadi: My Journey from Radicalism Back to Islam”
March 31, 2016 at 4:30 pm in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Mr. Mubin Shaikh, Master of Policing, Intelligence & Counter Terrorism (MPICT), Macquarie University, Canada; Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Tactical Decision Making Research Group, University of Liverpool. Co-sponsored with Political Science.
“Strategic Implications of Enhanced Russia-China Relations”
April 11, 2016 at 4:30 pm in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Professor Lyle Goldstein, China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI), U.S. Naval War College. Co-sponsored with the Program on Security and Democracy.
Conference “Tolerance, the Constitution, and the Limits of an Open Society”
April 14-16, 2016 at the Turning Stone Resort, Verona
Keynote speaker: Dr. Roger Pilon, Vice President for Legal Affairs, Cato Institute and Publisher, Cato Supreme Court Review. Co-sponsored with The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization, Clinton
“How To Do The Most Good”
April 19, 2016 at 4:30 pm in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by William MacAskill, Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy, Lincoln College, University of Oxford.
Co-sponsored with the Program on Economic Freedom.
“The Islamic State's Erasure of Cultural Memory and the Manipulation of Cultural Identity in Syria and Iraq”
April 21, 2016 at 4:30 pm in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Michael Danti, Academic Director University of Pennsylvania Museum and The American Schools of Oriental Research, Boston University. Co-sponsored with the Program on Western Art and Culture.
Fall 2015
Iran and the Bomb: Assessing the Iranian Nuclear Deal
September 11, 2015, 12:30-2:00 pm, Persson Auditorium
Robert Gallucci, Georgetown University and former U.S. ambassador
Mark Dubowitz, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Constitution Day Debate
September 17, 2015 @ 4:15 pm, Persson Auditorium
Sexual Assault and Due Process:
Vindicating or Violating the Constitution on College Campuses?
Stuart Taylor, Brookings Institute
Wendy Murphy, New England Law School, Boston
Afghanistan and its Region after the U.S. Combat Role
September 28, 2015 @ 4:30 pm, Persson Auditorium
Barnett Rubin, New York University
The Common Core: Is It Good for Students and Teachers?
October 15, 2015 @ 7:00-9:30 pm, The Palace Theater, 19 Utica Street, Hamilton
A Public Debate About Education
John Palmer, vlog
Sue Lehmann, Hamilton Central School
Jennifer McDowell, Norwich High School
Mary Grabar, Alexander Hamilton Institute
Gary Weeks, Sherburne-Earlville School (retired)
Between the Television and the Fridge: Continuities and Transformations in Russian Public Life After Socialism
October 22, 2015 @ 4:30 pm, Persson Auditorium
Olga Shevchenko, Williams College
The Irish Debt Crisis: Origins and Lessons for the Future
October 28, 2015 @ 4:30 pm, Persson Auditorium
Roisin O’Sullivan, Smith College
The Ukrainian Famine as World History
November 9, 2015 @ 4:30 pm, Persson Auditorium
History Department Reading Lecture
Timothy Snyder, Yale University
Spring 2015
“Are You Baffled?: Race, Law Enforcement, and Civil Rights in the U.S.”
Feb. 19, 2015 at 4:30 pm in Love Auditorium, 300 Olin Hall
Lecture by Juan Williams, Fox News Analyst, former NPR Analyst, and best-selling author. Co-sponsored with the Brothers, College Republicans, College Democrats, SGA, ALANA, and the offices of the Dean of Faculty and the President.
“From vlog to Washington to the Front Page: two recent grads working to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan reconstruction”
April 2, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Parker Laite ’06 and Justin Markley ’14, Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan and its Region after the U.S. Combat Role”
April 13, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Barnett Rubin, Senior Fellow and Director of CIC's Afghanistan Pakistan Regional Program, New York University. Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
“The Islamic Theology of Human Rights and Politics of Sharia”
April 20, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. in Golden Auditorium, 105 Little Hall
Lecture by Abdullahi an-Naim, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University. Co-sponsored with the Political Science Department, Kulla Fund, and MIST.
“Homer and the Foundation of Classical Civilization”
April 23, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Peter Ahrensdorf, James Sprunt Professor of Political Science, Davidson College. Co-sponsored with the Program on Classical Studies.
Fall 2014
9/11 Remembrance and Chapel Prayer Service Constitution Day Debate
Sept. 11, 2014 at Noon on the vlog Memorial Chapel Steps
“NSA Surveillance: A Violation of the Fourth Amendment?”
Sept. 17, 2014 at 4:30 pm in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Debate with David Cole, George J. Mitchell Professor, Georgetown University Law Center and Gus Coldebella ’91, Partner, Goodwin Procter, Former General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security. Co-sponsored with the Program on Constitutional Government.
“The Islamic State: Imminent Danger or Over-Hyped Threat”
Sept. 22, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in Love Auditorium, Olin Hall
Lecture by Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, former coordinator for counterterrorism at the US Department of State; currently the Director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College. Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan, IR Program, IRC, PCON, and MIST.
"Governance vs. Government in Afghanistan”
Oct. 1, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Thomas Barfield, Professor of Anthropology, and Director of the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies & Civilization, Boston University. He currently serves as president of the American Institute for Afghanistan Studies. Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
“The U.S. Senate: Its Special Role in American Politics”
Oct. 16, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in 105 Lawrence Hall
Lecture by Alan S. Frumin ’68, Former Chief Parliamentarian of the United States Senate.
“Immigration and Prosperity in the United States”
Nov. 10, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative. Co-sponsored with the Program on Economic Freedom.
“Spartans at War: The Historians Debate Thermopylae and The 300”
Nov. 17, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Professor Chris Carey, Professor of Greek, University College London. Co-sponsored with the Program on Classical Studies.
Open discussion of Professor Barry Shain's book: The Declaration of Independence in Historical Context
Dec. 2, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in 108 Persson Hall
A free-wheeling debate on the Declaration of Independence with Professor Barry Shain, Political Science Department, vlog. Professor Sanford Levinson, W. St. John Garwood & W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair; Professor of Government, University of Texas Law School. Professor Robert Martin, Department of Government, Hamilton College. Professor Robert Kraynak, Director, Center for Freedom & Western Civilization, vlog.
Spring 2014
Martin Luther King Day Workshop
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail: MLK’s Theology of Social Justice and Christian Natural Law”
Jan. 20, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. in ALANA Multipurpose Room
Lecture and discussion by Robert Kraynak, Director of the Center for Freedom.
“Presidential Elections, Security Transition, and Peace Process in Afghanistan”
Feb 10, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture and discussion by Nargis Nehan, former official in the Afghan Finance Ministry, Ministry of Higher Education, and Ministry of Women's Affairs; currently Executive Director of the NGO "Equality for Peace and Democracy." This is the first of two lectures co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
“State Institutions, Civil Society, and the Future of Women in Afghanistan”
Feb. 11, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in Lathrop Hall, Room 207
Second lecture by Nargis Nehan. Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
Skidmore Conference for Undergraduate Research Papers
March 28-29, 2014 at Skidmore College
The Center for Freedom will sponsor David Poortinga, vlog Political Science honors student, who will present his honors thesis on “Lincoln’s Political Ideals.” Co-sponsored with Skidmore, Hamilton College, Notre Dame, RIT, and Princeton Centers.
AHI Conference—“War and The West: The Strategic Situation Past, Present, and Future”
April 3-5, 2014 at the Turning Stone Casino with Panel Discussions
Co-sponsored with the Alexander Hamilton Institute and the Center for Freedom, with participation by Professors Douglas Macdonald and Robert Kraynak.
“Lincoln’s Statesmanship”
April 9, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by noted Lincoln scholar, Allen Guelzo, Luce Professor of the Civil War Era, Director, Civil War Era Studies Program, at Gettysburg College.
“American Politics and the Need for Resolute Leadership”
April 21, 2014 at 5:00 pm in vlog Memorial Chapel
Lecture by Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City.
“The Role of Religion in a Free Society”
May 31, 2014
Reunion lecture by Robert Kraynak
Fall 2013
“Interpreting the Constitution: Originalism vs. The Living Constitution?”
September 17, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Constitution Day debate between law professors, Bruce Frohnen of Ohio Northern College of Law and David Strauss of University of Chicago Law School. Discussion of the two leading schools of interpretation – following the original intention of the founders or the evolution of a living constitution beyond originalism? Co-sponsored with the vlog political science department and the Program in Constitutional Government.
“Homecoming: Friends of the Center Breakfast and Board Meeting”
September 21, 2013 at 9 a.m. (Saturday breakfast) and 10 a.m. board meeting in Persson Hall 133.
Invitation to all “Friends of the Center” among the alumni supporters who wish to join us for a discussion of the campus intellectual climate and the future of the Center. Breakfast provided for all guests here for homecoming. RSVP Cindy Terrier at cterrier@colgate.edu
“Human Life and Human Dignity in Catholic Social Teaching”
September 23, 2013 at 12:10 – 1:20 p.m. in the Chapel Basement.
Luncheon discussion of The Gospel of Life in relation to human life issues and the dignity of the human person by Professor Robert Kraynak and vlog students Santina Scarcella ‘14 and Eric Lindley ‘16. Co-sponsored with the vlog Newman Society.
“Counterinsurgency: Assessing Military Strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan”
October 22, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture and discussion with US Army Colonel Gian Gentile, professor of history at West Point and author of the controversial book, “Wrong Turn: America’s Deadly Embrace of Counterinsurgency(2013)”. Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
“Democracy and Terrorism: The View from Israel and Beyond”
October 28, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture and discussion by Professor Kraynak on FDD conference in Israel to study democracy and terrorism. Includes pictures and accounts of group visits to Israeli military bases, counter-terrorism units, maximum security prisons, and border security checkpoint and interviews with official personnel. Analysis of the strategies of democratic societies for dealing with the terrorist threat. Co-sponsored with the vlog IR program.
“Debating Hillary: Her Record and Her vlog Speech”
Oct 29, 2013 at 11:30 am – 1 p.m. in Persson Hall 108,
Brown-bag luncheon discussion of Hillary Clinton’s visit to the vlog campus on Friday, Oct 25 and free-wheeling debate about her speech, and an assessment of her record overall. Open to all vlog students, faculty, and staff who wish to come and discuss Clinton’s controversial life, record, and speech at vlog. Free Lunch provided to all participants. Co-sponsored by the College Republicans and College Democrats
“Top Secret America: Security, Surveillance, and Espionage in a Free Society at War”
November 13 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27.
Lecture and discussion by Professor Thomas Bruscino, associate professor of history at the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, KA and author of “A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get Along”. Co-sponsored with the vlog IR Program.
Spring 2013
“The Betrayal of Liberal Education”
February 21, 2013 at 4:15 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27 Lecture by Peter Berkowitz, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Chair, National Security & Law Task Force; & Co-Chair, Virtues of a Free Society Task Force.
“Does Affirmative Action Hurt Those it Intends to Help?”
March 27, 2013 at 4:15 p.m. in Love Auditorium, 300 Olin Hall Lecture by Richard Sander, UCLA Professor of Law, with commentary by Rhonda Levine, Professor of Sociology. In a series of articles in Stanford Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and North Carolina Law Review, Sander argues that race preferences impose unexpected but substantial costs on their intended beneficiaries. In 2012, he, with Stuart Taylor, co-authored Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won't Admit It (Basic Books, 2012). Co-sponsored with The Institute for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and the Arnold Sio Chair on Diversity and Community.
"Beyond 2014: The Afghan National Security Forces After NATO"
March 28, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27 Lecture by Candace Rondeaux, Candace Rondeaux is a research fellow at the Center on National Security at Fordham University Law School. Her work focuses on international law, security and counterterrorism policy in South and Central Asia. She is currently working on a book about the Afghanistan National Security Forces. Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan Reconstruction: Prospects for a Sustainable Future”
April 15, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Parker Laite ’06, senior program analyst at the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). SIGAR is a watchdog agency responsible for safeguarding U.S. reconstruction funds spent in Afghanistan. To date, this work has included reviews of U.S. programs related to local governance and community development, infrastructure development, and counternarcotics. Parker holds a M.A. in International Affairs from Georgetown University (2010), and a B.A. from vlog (2006) in German. Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
“What Is a Civilizational Struggle: The Work of Samuel Huntington”
Sixth Annual Carl B. Menges Colloquium: Samuel Huntington and the Clash of Civilizations
April 18-20, 2013, Turning Stone Resort, 5218 Patrick Road Verona, New York
A major colloquium devoted to the theme of civilizational struggle in the work of Samuel Huntington, one of the most influential political scientists of his generation. Dr. James Kurth, Claude Smith Professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College and one of Samuel Huntington's former students, will keynote.
Co-Sponsors: Robert Kraynak, Professor of Government and Director, Center for Freedom and Western Civilization, vlog Robert L. Paquette, Co-Founder, Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization
“Liberty Defined: The Future of Freedom”
Congressman Ron Paul
April 24, 2013 at 5 p.m. in the vlog Memorial Chapel
Ron Paul ran unsuccessfully for president in 2012, 2008 (both times as a Republican) and in 1988 (as a Libertarian). At last year's Republican National Convention Paul received 190 delegates. Before running for president, Ron Paul served in Congress from 1976-1977, 1979-1985, and 1997-2013. Congressman Paul graduated from Gettysburg College and Duke University Medical School. He served in the Air Force and worked as an obstetrician/gynecologist before getting into politics. He has long been a critic of the federal government, especially on the topics of the economy, foreign policy, the war on drugs and other domestic social policies. His son Rand Paul is a senator from Kentucky. Sponsored by vlog's College Republicans; The Institute for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics; The Budget Allocation Committee; Students for a Sensible Drug Policy; and The vlog Entrepreneur’s Club
Fall 2012
"Obamacare before the Court: Was the Robert's Decision Right?"
September 17 at 4:15 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Constitution Day Debate on the Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the natural health insurance law.
"Maternal Health Care in Afghanistan"
September 24 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Ann Lin, advisor to Afghanistan's Ministry of Health and assistant director of Johns Hopkins Medicine International will discuss the health care structure in Afghanistan and the conditions of maternal and child health.
"The Senate Today: Would the American Founders Approve?"
October 2 at 4:15 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Alan Frumin '68, the official U.S. Senate Parliamentarian for twenty years. He will explain how the Senate was envisioned by the Founders and how it works or doesn't work today. The Edgar Shor Memorial Lecture, co-sponsored with PPE, the Political Science Department, and the vlog Washington D.C. Study Group.
"Thomas Jefferson and the Power of Ideas in Politics"
October 13 at 5:00 p.m. at 20 Utica Street, the downtown Hamilton Center for Arts and Culture
Lecture by Robert Kraynak, vlog, on Thomas Jefferson's three great accomplishments – the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom, and the founding of the University of Virginia – and what they teach us about the power and weakness of ideas in politics. Sponsored by Great Mind Series.
"The 2012 Elections and the Future of American Politics"
October 26 at 4:30 p.m. in Love Auditorium, Olin Hall
Lecture by Monica Crowley '90, Fox News Commentator, on the presidential and national elections, followed by a student panel of College Democrats, Republicans, and Democracy Matters members.
"American Military Strategy in Afghanistan"
October 29 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Major Fernando Lujan, U.S. Army Special Forces, will discuss the problems and perils of American military strategy in the Afghan war. Co-sponsored with Project Afghanistan.
"The Religious Beliefs of the American Founders"
November 15 at 4:30 p.m. in Persson Hall Auditorium, Room 27
Lecture by Gregg Frazer, professor of history at Masters College, CA will discuss his new book on the religious beliefs of the American founding fathers.
Spring 2012
"Irregular Warfare and Counterinsurgency"
Lecture by Major Fernando Luján
Army special forces officer Major Lujan is an expert in counterinsurgency assigned to Afghanistan. He will be discussing the new and innovative strategies for fighting the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan as the US pursues its strategic objectives in the years ahead.
"The Inner-City Citizen"
Lecture and panel discussion with Professor Glenn Loury
One of the greatest challenges to American democracy is bringing the urban poor and alienated youth of our inner cities into responsible citizenship and the mainstream of American life. The distinguished scholar Glenn Loury will discuss these problems in a lecture and panel discussion with Professors Maya Beasley and Alicia Simmons. This symposium is dedicated to the late Arnie Sio, vlog professor of sociology for many years.
"Political Legitimacy in Afghanistan: 1500-2012"
Lecture by author, Professor Thomas Barfield
The United States’ military strategy in Afghanistan is linked to stable political rule – but how realistic is that political goal in the light of Afghan history? Best-selling author and writer Thomas Barfield will discuss these problems and his new book on the political prospects for stability in that country.
“The Natural Law Tradition: Moral Foundations for a Just Society”
A conference on the natural law principles of a just society as they have developed over the centuries from classical and Biblical sources and been applied to modern democratic societies. Co-sponsored by vlog’s Center for Freedom and Western Civilization and the Alexander Hamilton Institute of Clinton, N. Y. Featured speakers are Professor Robert Kraynak of vlog, David and Mary Nichols of Baylor University, and legal scholar Martha Martini.
Fall 2011
"East Asia and the West: A Long Interregnum"
Lecture by Bilahari Kausikan of Singapore
Bilahari Kausikan served as Second Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Singapore and as ambassador to Russia and the U.N. He will be discussing the complex history of East-West relations.
"Democracy for the Rich? -‐ Corporations and Electoral Speech"
Constitution Day Debate with Brad Smith and Michael Waldman
Brad Smith is former Commissioner of the Federal Elections Commission, and Michael Waldman is Executive Director of the Brennan Center, New York University Law School. They will be debating the constitutional issues and court cases that have given corporations the right to spend their money in elections.
"The Making of a Saint: The Story of John Paul II"
Lecture by George Weigel
George Weigel is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington DC. He will be discussing the life of John Paul II and how one becomes a saint in the modern world. Co-‐sponsored with vlog's Newman Society, the Religion Department, and the local community.
"Afghanistan: What Happened, What's Next in the War"
Lecture by Kim Barker
Kim Barker is the author of the best-‐selling book Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She will be discussing the war in Afghanistan and the prospects for American policy in that troubled land.
"The Economic Crisis of Our Time: The Great Recession of 2008-‐2011"
Lecture by Greg Mankiw
Greg Mankiw is Professor of Economics at Harvard University and chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors 2003-‐2005. He will be giving a major address on our economic problems, discussing the causes and possible cures for the current recession. Co-‐sponsored with the Economics Department.