Program:

A lot can be learned from how we use the internet. Our viewing

patterns offer insights into our health, behavior, and our democracy.

Social scientists are pioneering new collaborations with Facebook to

get access to its data, under the banner “Social Science One”. As

efforts progress toward developing partnerships questions have been

raised about safeguards for privacy, ethical conduct, and independence from corporate interests.

Bios:

Gary King is the Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social

Science and a distinguished professor at Harvard University. He has

written more than 170 journal articles, 20 open source software

packages, and 8 books. His work has made him widely read across

scholarly fields and beyond academia.

William McGeveran specializes in data privacy, intellectual property,

communications and technology, and free speech. In addition to his

teaching and scholarship, he currently serves as Associate Dean for

Academic Affairs at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Larry Jacobs is the Director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance and the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies. His commentary and research has been published and discussed in a number of mass media outlets.

Program:

Presidents of the United States are the most powerful figures in America and, arguably, the world. The First Lady receives far less attention but exerts influence within the White House and stars in Washington’s shrouded political theatre.  

Novelist Curtis Sittenfeld joins us for a conversation about the public visibility and private dramas of the First Lady – from Laura Bush to Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. She will also read from her novel American Wife – a fictional account of Laura Bush

Bios:

Curtis Sittenfeld is the bestselling author of five novels. Her books have been selected by The New York Times, Time, Entertainment Weekly, and People for their “Ten Best Books of the Year” lists, optioned for television and film, and translated into thirty languages. Ms. Sittenfeld has interviewed Michelle Obama for Time and has appeared as a guest on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” CBS’s “Early Show,” and PBS’s Newshour. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Larry Jacobs is the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance and the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies. His commentary and research has been published and discussed in a number of mass media outlets.

Program:

Professor Hahrie Han will examine the opportunities and substantial hurdles facing community organizers. Professor Han studies the way political and community organizations make the civic participation of ordinary people "Possible, Probable and Powerful." Her work explores how to increase grassroots power and capacity rather than short-term mobilizing. Kara Carlisle of the McKnight Foundation will moderate the program.

Bios:

Professor Hahrie Han is a professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She specializes in the study of civic participation, organizing, and social change. Through her research, she partners with a wide range of civic and political organizations interested in organizing and building power for social change in the United States and around the world.

Kara Carlisle is the vice president of programs for the McKnight Foundation. In her position she drives impact across geographic and issue-specific areas including diversity, equity, and community engagement. She has previously worked with the W. K. Kellog Foundation 's Civic and Philanthropic Engagement team, and is a former board member of the National Association for Community Mediation in Washington, DC.

Professor Theda Skocpol of Harvard University is among America’s most acclaimed scholars of American politics. Her conversation will cover topics ranging from her new research on community responses to President Trump and her continuing research on the Tea Party and conservative networks.

Theda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University. She has served as the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Director of the Center for American Political Studies. She is the founder and director of the Scholar Strategy Network, a group of academics dedicated to using research to improve public policy. Among her most recent books are The Transformation of American Politics: Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism, What a Mighty Power We Can Be: African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality, and Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life.

Since the 1970's conservative donors, activists, and business have been building networks to influence the state policy process. Professor Alexander Hertel-Fernandez from Columbia University will visit the Humphrey School to talk about why conservatives have been successful using organizations like ALEC to influence policy making while progressives have lagged behind.

Alexander Hertel-Fernandez is a political scientist who studies the effect that organized interests have on public policy. His book Politics at Work: How Companies Turn Their Workers Into Lobbyists examines how business are using their workforces to influence American politics. His most recent book is State Capture:How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States -- and the Nation. Copies will be available to purchase at the event.

The US Constitution mandates that the government -- which includes state universities -- should not discriminate against speakers based on their viewpoints. Should university panels include diverse perspectives, including conservatives who may unsettle students and faculty? What about advocates for extreme nationalist viewpoints whose presence invites large protests that impose substantial costs on universities and colleges? Has President Trump's recent executive order secured campus free speech (as advertised) or potentially weakened it?

Bios:

Jane Kirtley is the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. She has written and spoken extensively on free speech and media ethics. Professor Kirtley has also written friend-of-the-court briefs in the US Supreme Court and published two books.

Isaiah Ogren is the Speaker of the Forum for the Minnesota Student Association. In that role he serves as a neutral arbiter for MSA legislation. He is an academic junior with majors in History and Individualized Study.