UW-Green Bay faculty to speak at Door County Talks
UW-Green Bay faculty are scheduled to give presentations at the 2020 Door County Talks winter series. Presenters include Associate Prof. Alise Coen (Political Science), Associate Prof. of History and Director of Student Success Vince Lowery, Associate Prof. Kimberley Reilly (Democracy and Justice Studies) and Assistant Prof. Nolan Bennett (Political Science). Below is a description of the presentations.
Immigration Politics: Between Rights and Restrictions with Associate Prof. Alise Coen (Saturday, Jan, 18, 2020 at 10 a.m.)
Debates over U.S. immigration policy have been shaped by a complex history characterized by tensions between migration restrictions and migrant rights. To understand ongoing policy shifts regarding immigration and asylum, it is important to engage with the evolution of both nativism and human rights advocacy. International law and evolving court interpretations have also played a crucial role in immigration politics, exemplified by recent discussions about the Flores Settlement Agreement and zero tolerance policies designed to deter undocumented migrants and asylum-seekers. Coen’s presentation aims to weave together these diverse and sometimes paradoxical historical forces to help shed light on current political realities.
How Many Reconstructions Does It Take to Be Free? A Meditation on the Long Civil Rights Movement with Associate Prof. and UWGB Director of Student Success Vince Lowery (Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 at 10 a.m.)
With the abolition of slavery, the United States entered the period of Reconstruction, which historian Eric Foner calls “the unfinished revolution.” The meaning of freedom for African-Americans, and in fact all Americans, remained in question. That “revolution” began again in the mid-twentieth century with the civil rights movement, which some historians refer to as the “Second Reconstruction.” Now fifty years removed from that event, in light of the persistence of Jim Crow-style policies and practices, many are calling for a “Third Reconstruction.” In his talk, Lowery will trace the threads connecting these three eras, exploring moments of progress and regression and the road left to travel.
Woman Suffrage 100 Years Later: Assessing Its Triumphs and Limits with Associate Prof. Kimberley Reilly (Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 at 10 a.m.)
How did the women’s rights movement win passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, and what lesson can we learn from that victory? One hundred years after women won the constitutional right to vote, we will examine the history of the suffrage movement alongside battles that were left unfinished. We will also consider how the legacy of the suffrage movement influences the fight for gender equality today.
The Radical Vision of the American Abolitionists with Assistant Prof. Nolan Bennett (Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 at 10 a.m.)
Speaking at a Fourth of July celebration in 1860, the formerly enslaved Frederick Douglass famously asked his audience: “Why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?” With this fierce denunciation of American hypocrisy—that the country would celebrate liberty and equality while so many remained enslaved in the South—Douglass offered a radical vision of American history and democracy. In this talk, we will look at how those opposed to slavery (like Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, David Walker and Abraham Lincoln) offered a new, expansive reading of American ideals as they challenged the “peculiar institution.” We will consider how they looked back to the founding era and its documents and forward to a new dawn of justice. In light of that progressive outlook, we wi;; also discuss the lasting legacy of the abolitionists and how slavery continues to influence American politics and ideas.
No RSVP is required for the Door County Talks series. Freewill donations will be encouraged at the door. Coffee and bakery from Kick Ash Coffee will be available for purchase for DC Talks and Coffeehouses.
