2006-2008 Theme: Global Citizenship

Semester 2 Theme

Civic Engagement and the Liberal Arts
The call to citizenship is more than a simple exhortation to "get involved." We face a complex world filled with ambiguous issues.  The critical reflection of the liberal arts is essential to citizens seeking thoughtful engagement. The college community will be asked to consider the public purpose of a liberal arts education.
Contact person: Dan Hofrenning (Political Science)

Semester 1 Theme

Liberal Arts in Times of War
Global citizens face a number of issues in the world community; none is more crucial than war. We will encourage college-wide reflection on the contributions of liberal arts to understanding, (a) war, its nature, origins and consequences; (b) terrorism and the war against it; (c)  morality in the initiation and conduct of war; (d) "realism," "just war,"  "holy war" and "non-violence" as competing normative traditions in the analysis of war.
Contact person: Edmund Santurri (Religion)

Focus the Nation Teach-In:
Civic Engagement, Global Citizenship
and Global Warming
More>>

Is Global Community Possible?
Larry Rasmussen '61, St. Olaf regent and the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary.

Rasmussen will address the questions: What can global citizenship mean apart from global community? Since global community does not exist in any firm form, what does St. Olaf's theme actually mean? What are the chances for the evolution of global community?

The New Green Movement
Students from St. Olaf, Carleton and other Minesota colleges will speak about their experiences at Powershift 2007, the largest youth summit on global climate change in history. Find out what is happening in Northfield and nationwide this academic year and how you can take action in your everyday life.

The 2008 Conference on
Globalization and Social Responsibility: Working for the Common Good

7 p.m.
Buntrock Commons
Ballroom

Corporate Responsibility and the UN Global Compact
Manuel Escudero, senior advisor and head of United Nations Global Compact Special Projects within the Global Compact Office of the secretary general. Escudero is also head of academic initiatives at the GCO, and previously served as head of Global Compact Networks. The UN Global Compact is the most important voluntary initiative of corporate citizenship worldwide, with more than 4500 participants, mostly companies, and with established networks in more than 80 countries.

Educating Consumers: Wal-Mart, Firestone, and Worker's Rights
Bama Athreya, executive director for the International Labor Rights Fund.  Dr. Athreya is a cultural anthropologist, and will speak about her work in Cambodia, Indonesia, and China on the issues of child labor and worker education programs

10:15 a.m.- noon
Buntrock Commons
Ballroom

Breakout sessions, hosted by St. Olaf's social science departments, will explore different aspects of the conference theme.

Civic Engagement in a Diverse World
William Galston, College Park Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy; senior fellow: in governance studies at The Brookings Institution; deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy during the first Clinton administration.

Galston will discuss his book, Liberal Pluralism: The Implications of Value Pluralism for Political Theory and Practice, with specific reference to questions of civic engagement. In a diverse world, how can we develop engaged citizens?

3:15 p.m.
Buntrock Commons
Viking Theater

Educating Citizens
Elizabeth Beaumont, professor of political science at the University of Minnesota and former research scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Stanford, Calif.

Beaumont has co-authored two books that have explored the civic missions of colleges and universities. She probes the ways in which academic institutions educate for political understanding and engagement when there is so much material to cover, so many intellectual skills and capacities to build, and so little time to accomplish these goals.

7 p.m.
Holland Hall 501

4 p.m.
Rolvaag 525

Senior English majors Bethan Birkelo, Lauren Fischer, Lauren Melcher and Linsey Myers will discuss four of the most influential publications of our age: The Economist, The New Yorker, National Review and The New Republic. Which publication is for you? How is each editorial board covering the 2008 elections? What are those New Yorker cartoons all about? This interactive presentation will answer your questions. Refreshments provided courtesty of the English Department.

6:30 p.m.
Holland Hall 501

Alum and community activist Yee Chang '96 and Northfield Human Rights Commissioner Vice-Chair Judy Dirks will mark 33 years since the U.S. left Vietnam. Asian Studies seminar students Jay Xiong '09, Houachee Yang '08, and Sandy Yang '09 will present their findings on the mass human right abuses in post-war S.E. Asia.

Student Panel Discussion:
Constitutional Limits in Times of War
Vera Belazelkoska '09, Josh Clapp '09, Sharon Grawe '08, Jason Teiken '10, and Ishanaa Rambachan '08 will serve as panelists. After opening remarks by each panelist, questions will be taken from the audience. Professor o f Political Science, Douglas Casson, organizer of the panel, will moderate.

Literatures of Terrorism: Wordsworth, Dostoevsky, Camus, Khadra, and the Presnyakov Brothers
Faculty Panel Discussion:
Jolene Barjasteh, romance languages; Jonathan Hill, English; Anna Kuxhausen, history; Marc Robinson, Russian; and Edmund Santurri, religion.

9:15-10:30 a.m.
Buntrock Commons 142

Terrorism, Common Crimes and Community Policing
George Kelling, professor at the Rutgers-Newark School of Criminal Justice, is a leading expert on policing issues, community policing, the relationship between fear, crime and disorder, and urban crime. He is co-developer of the "broken windows" theory, which has had a nationwide impact on the policies and practices that unite communities with police.

The War over Jihad:  What does 'jihad' really mean?
Sohail Hashmi, associate professor of international relations and alumnae foundation chair in the social sciences at Mount Holyoke College.

For at least the past two centuries, Muslims and non-Muslims have argued over how to define and to implement this central concept in Islam. The controversy often pits Muslim against Muslim and non-Muslim against non-Muslim as much as it does Muslim against non-Muslim. Since the 9/11 attack on America, the war over jihad has raged in this country. It has been waged by students, journalists, politicians, clergy, novelists and many academics. So what does "jihad" really mean, and how should American colleges and universities deal with this controversial subject?