The Irish Citizen's Assembly Project was formed in 2011 to test whether a more deliberative form of democracy could work in Ireland at a time when people felt adrift and disconnected from power. The project's work led to a series of policy decisions and referenda on abortion and marriage equality.
Sona Golder, Penn State professor of political science, discusses Brexit’s history and what its future might look like on this week’s episode of the Democracy Works podcast, produced by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy and WPSU Penn State.
Defending Democracy in Brazil Week will be held March 11-19 and examine the future of democracy in Brazil from several angles, including culture, politics and the environment
Author, Washington Post columnist and NPR contributor E.J. Dionne will visit Penn State on March 19 to discuss his work at the intersection of politics, media and democracy, and why he says America needs to become empathetic again in order for democracy to thrive. His lecture will be held at 4 p.m. March 19 in the Katz Building auditorium.
The Penn State Student Programming Association Lectures Committee, in collaboration with the Rock Ethics Institute, will present a free lecture by Bryan Stevenson at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, in Eisenhower Auditorium. The lecture is part of SPA’s Distinguished Speaker Series. Stevenson is an award-winning author and lawyer who wrote the New York Times best-seller "Just Mercy." He also is a leading voice for civil rights and criminal justice reform.
For the fifth year, Penn State first-year honors students are inviting the community to join them for Deliberation Nation, a series of deliberative discussions about local, national and global issues of significance and urgency. More than 50 deliberation events will be held on the University Park campus and in State College from Feb. 18-28.
Haidt will present a lecture on “The Three Terrible Ideas Weakening Gen Z and Damaging Universities and Democracies” Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. in 100 Thomas and on “What Capitalism Does to Us, and For Us” Feb. 22 at 11:10 a.m. in the Struthers Auditorium of the Business Building.
The Center for Global Studies at Penn State will host Srdja Popovic, activist, global thinker, and founder and executive director of the Center for Applied Nonviolent Actions and Strategies, on Feb. 26 at University Park. Popovic will deliver a lecture titled “Laughtivism: The Power of Humor in Nonviolent Struggle” at 4:30 p.m. in the Lewis Katz Auditorium.
LA 297 Democratic Erosion, taught by McCourtney Institute for Democracy Managing Director Chris Beem, will be held from 4:35 to 5:50 p.m. on Thursdays in 113 Thomas Building from Feb. 7 to April 11. The one-credit LA 297 course is available to any undergraduate student.
The first Brown-McCourtney Early Career Professorship, created through the generosity of Penn State alumni Laurence and Lynne Brown, with matching funds from the Tracy and Ted McCourtney Endowed Professorship Matching Gift Program, has been awarded to Abraham Khan in the College of the Liberal Arts.
Results from the latest Penn State Mood of the Nation Poll, conducted by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, show that not only do people with opposing political beliefs fundamentally disagree, they find it difficult — if not impossible — to put themselves in the shoes of someone from the other side.
University systems around the country face funding cuts from their respective states and a growing anti-intellectual sentiment from constituents. Executive Vice President and Provost Nick Jones discusses these issues on the latest episode of the Democracy Works podcast.
Penn State’s Department of Communication Arts and Sciences was well-represented at the National Communication Association’s Awards Ceremony last week, as faculty and students from the department received six of the organization's 23 annual awards and five additional division awards.
Penn State Deliberates, a new student-run project in the Center for Democratic Deliberation, aims to shed light on the democratic deliberations that are happening in person — across the political spectrum and away from social media.
Penn State alumni Larry and Lynne Brown recently made a $500,000 estate commitment to create the Laurence and Lynne Brown-McCourtney Endowed Career Professorship in the College of the Liberal Arts.
