Public Lecture
Can Democracy Work? The American People and Their Stressed Institutions
American democracy is under stress. How can democracy work when so many Americans feel animosity towards one another and distrust their governing institutions?
Join us at 5pm on Tuesday, April 21 in Goergen Hall, room 101 for a lecture by Henry Brady, professor of political science at University of California, Berkeley. Drawing on a wealth of survey data, Professor Brady will share novel visualizations of political change, exploring the evolution of political polarization and institutional distrust over the past five decades. Despite these challenges, Brady will argue, American institutions still afford citizens ample voice to influence politics and policy.
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Film Screening
Celluloid Underground
Cinema and Politics Series
Join the Democracy Center and The Little Theater for a screening and Discussion of Celluloid Underground. Ehsan Khoshbakht’s riveting autobiographical documentary is an immersive portrait of post-revolutionary Iran and a stirring testament to the power of cinema to resist tyranny. It’s the story of his formative friendship with the mysterious Ahmad, a maverick film collector who, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, becomes an unlikely hero as he undertakes the courageous mission of hiding thousands of banned 35mm film prints in downtown Tehran basements.
The screening takes place Friday, April 17 at 6:00pm, at the Little Theater, 240 East Ave, Rochester, NY. Tickets are free for UofR students with a student ID. All others can purchase a ticket at the door, or online here.
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Public Lecture
Trajectory of Power: The Rise of the Strongman Presidency
Presidential power in the United States has evolved and become distorted as a threatening force subverting American democracy. Placed in the wrong hands, its authority poses as a replacement for democratic strongholds with a de facto system of strongman rule. In a political landscape wracked by partisanship and polarization, traditional presidential power has exceeded the parameters of “normal” incentives. With the pursuit of such expansive unilateral power that necessitates a blatant disregard for democratic requirements places the most fundamental American institutions in jeopardy. In his book "Trajectory of Power: The Rise of the Strongman Presidency”, William Howell discusses how historical trajectories of Republican and Democratic presidents and their increasing deviations from each other point only to more ideologically extreme political elites. Join us at 5pm on March 25th, in Wegmans 1400 as we navigate the ever-changing paradigms of presidential power, and how the modern era is profoundly transforming the reaches of the Oval Office. As the inaugural Dean of the School of Government and Policy at Johns Hopkins University, Howell has written widely on separation of powers issues and American political institutions, especially the presidency. The Democracy Center is proud to host him for this lecture, and look forward to this timely, urgent, and original investigation into the role of the American President.
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Film Screening
My Imaginary Country
Cinema and Politics Series
One day, without warning, a revolution exploded. It was the event that master documentarian Patricio Guzmán had been waiting for all his life: a million and a half people in the streets of Santiago, Chile, demanding justice, education, health care, and a new constitution to replace the strident rules imposed on the country during the Pinochet military dictatorship. Urgent and inspired, My Imaginary Country features harrowing front-line protest footage and interviews with dynamic activist leaders and powerfully connects Chile's complex, bloody history to contemporary revolutionary social movements and the election of a new president. Join us on Thursday, March 19, at 5:30pm in Dewey Hall, room 1-101 for a screening and discussion of Patricio Guzman's 2022 documentary film My Imaginary Country. We'll start with light refreshments, watch the film, and then enjoy an in-depth discussion, featuring Professors of Political Science Gretchen Helmke and Anderson Frey, and Professor of Modern Languages and Cultures Luis-Maria Rojas-Rimachi.
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Public Lecture
An ER for the Rule of Law: Lawyering in an Era of Democratic Erosion
Judicial systems are designed to uphold and interpret the law, but who holds those in power accountable to it? Around the world, democracies have grappled with the challenge of prosecuting elected officials who abuse their authority to undermine democratic institutions. In practice, enforcing accountability against political leaders is extraordinarily difficult. What obstacles stand in the way, and how can lawyers and judges respond to them? Sonia Mittal, clinical lecturer and associate research scholar in law at Yale Law School, will explore these questions in this year’s Cutler Lecture, open to the public and held on Wednesday, February 25 at 5:00pm in Wegmans Hall, room 1400. Mittal is a former senior counsel and assistant U.S. attorney who played a leading role in major DOJ investigations. She is a scholar of constitutional failure with publications in the Harvard Law & Policy Review; Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization; Northwestern Law Review; Stanford Law Review Online; and the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law.
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Film Screening
Death of Stalin
Cinema and Politics Series
Join us for a screening and discussion of Armando Iannucci's outrageous black comedy The Death of Stalin, on Thursday, February 19, at 5:30pm in Dewey Hall, room 1-101. We'll start with light refreshments, watch the film, and then enjoy an in-depth discussion, moderated by Randy Stone, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Skalny Center for Polish and East European Studies.
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