The Center for Western Civilization, Thought & Policy is hosting its first event of the 2018 Fall semester on Sept. 13. The Center’s Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought & Policy, Prof. Stephen B. Presser will conduct his first address to the CU Boulder community with his lecture, President Trump: A Danger to the Republic?

Prof. Presser’s discussion will examine President Trump’s judicial philosophy and Supreme Court appointees while touching upon the potential impact the president’s decisions will have on the future of the American judicial system. The lecture will also address Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel investigation and the possibility of impeachment.

Prof. Presser is one of two Visiting Scholars in Conservative Thought and Policy on campus for the 2018-19 school year. Prof. Presser is an expert in American legal history and Business Associations. He is a frequent witness before committees in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on issues pertaining to constitutional law. He holds a joint appointment within Northwestern University, in both the history department and the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Prof. Presser is teaching two courses per semester during his residency at CU in topics pertaining to U.S. Law and legal history.

Students and faculty, as well as members of the public, are encouraged to attend the lecture. The scheduled presentation will take place in Hale Science, Room 230, beginning at 5:30pm. Previous versions of this event description mentioned that a reception would follow the event. Due to the unavailability of catering, we have unfortunately had to remove the reception. However, we invite guests and audience members to ask questions of the speaker during the Q&A period. .

Off

"Her son. Her story. The silenced witness speaks."
"For more than two thousand years, Mary has been silent.  Seen by the world but until now, not heard.  At long last, this Mary speaks a defiant truth – in a voice that is both tender and fierce.  Not the familiar saint – she seeks redemption in sharing her personal version of the truth of her son’s death by writing her own Gospel on her own terms. The men are relentless in their attempts to compel her to agree to their memory as the official record of the truth.  Mary is immovable, as she recounts Jesus’ last days – her only son and the incomparable sacrifice.

At the heart of this performance is the heart of a woman grieving an immeasurable loss and constantly asking the question, was it worth it?

“Plays as stark and strong as this don’t come along very often….this is a work of manifest integrity.” The Telegraph, UK.  

Originally produced on Broadway by Scott Rudin Productions. Commissioned by Dublin Theatre Festival and Landmark Productions with the support of Irish Theatre Trust.

Written by one of the world’s greatest living novelists, this is a profound, poetic and immensely thoughtful reimagining of one of Western cultures foundational narratives.  Irish writer Colm Toibin has been shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize on three occasions and wrote the novel on which the film Brooklyn, is based.  

In the role of Mary, is Tamara Meneghini, an actor known for her work on Master Class, by Terrance McNally (presented at the Dairy Center for the Arts) and most recently Elizabeth I – In Her Own Words, an original work based on the life of Queen Elizabeth I. 

Transforming the Carsen Theatre at the Dairy Arts Center is renowned director and theatre artist, Ami Dayan (Reason, Master Class, Conviction, Tale of the Tiger, Masked).  Having worked together several times in the past, Meneghini and Dayan bring a unique light to this hallowed tale of truth and passion.

Tickets available at Dairy Arts Center: 303-444-7328 / "- , Associate Professor, Department of Theatre & Dance, University of Colorado Boulder

Results: 

As a result of this Regional Premiere Performance, we had many who were already interested in the novel (of the same title) and appeared to “like the play better”.  The accompanying panel presentations, following five selected performances provided a space for audience members to talk about their responses to the play and even more importantly – about what they did or did not believe.  The panels were largely taken as an open door for audience members to share things that they had not thought of otherwise.  We have been invited by two producing theatre entities in Denver and in the midwest to consider further performances.  Thanks to CWC for the support to bring this important story to Boulder…and, even more, beyond!

The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. All CU Boulder faculty and students are eligible to apply If you are interested in applying for a CWCTP faculty grant, deadlines are rolling throughout the year.

Off

Location:
“Skybox” (top floor)
Duane Physics Building
University of Colorado Boulder

Friday, 04/21/2017 @ 9:15am

Workshop sessions will present three workshop papers and a presentation by our first featured scholar, Prof. Amy Remensnyder.

Workshop papers:
• Marla Segol (Jewish Studies, SUNY Buffalo): “Mystical Embryologies: Knowledge, Practice, and Devotion”
Respondent: Nan Goodman (English and Jewish Studies, CU Boulder)
• Marianne Kupin-Lisbin (History, U of Rochester): “New Approaches in Understanding the Lived Religious Culture of the Ottoman Balkans”
Respondent: Sabahat Adil (Asian Languages and Civilizations, CU Boulder)
• Anna Akasoy (Islamic Intellectual History, Hunter College): “Imaginary Spaces of Devotion in Andalusi Mystical Poetry”
Respondent: Cyrus Zargar (Religion, Augustana College)  

Featured Scholar:
• Amy Remensnyder (History: Brown University): “Does the Sea Matter to the History of Mediterranean Devotion?”

Saturday, 04/22/2017 @ 9:15

Round-table sessions will feature three round tables, followed by a presentation by our second featured scholar, Dr. Maribel Fierro.

AND

“Mediterranean Studies in Asia”
Yuen-Gen Liang  (National Taiwan University) & Eun-Jee Park (Busan University of Foreign Studies)

Featured Scholar
• Maribel Fierro (CSIC, Madrid): “The Political Mystics of al-Andalus”

The event is free, admittance is by registration only. Space is limited. Registered participants should attend the whole event.
For general information contact: mailbox@mediterraneanseminar.org. To register and to receive the workshop papers, and for logistical and site-specific information, please contact Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
 

Sponsored By:

CU Boulder College of Arts and Sciences Innovative Seed Grant, the Program in Jewish Studies, Religious Studies, the Center for Western Civilization, History, Philosophy, Asian Languages and Civilizations, Humanities, Spanish & Portuguese, Philosophy and the College of Arts and Sciences. Administrative support provided by Religious Studies (CU Boulder).

The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. All CU Boulder faculty and students are eligible to apply If you are interested in applying for a CWCTP faculty grant, deadlines are rolling throughout the year.

Off

In recent years Horace's Epodes have become increasingly topical, being the recipient of com­mentaries by Cavarzere, Mankin and Watson. Horace's ninth epode is one of his most famous poems and has as its subject the battle of Actium, one of the most decisive and irifluential battles of antiquity; yet one has only to glance at these commentaries to see that scholars cannot agree on where the poem is set (in the city of Rome or at the battle itself?) or on when it is set (before, during, or after the battle?). Is the poem a prelude to a drinking party, as Nisbet thinks, or is there a drinking party already in progress, as Fraenkel believed? In this paper it will be argued that the opening of the poem is deliberately ambiguous and that readers are challenged to work out the dramatic context as they read through the poem. It is gradually revealed that an off-shore drinking party is in progress, and one can account for the very different phases of the naval en­gagement described in the poem if one assumes that Horace is not the only speaker.

This event is free and open to the public.  Everyone is welcome.

Sponsored by GCAH, CWCTP, and the Department of Classics.

Results:          

In his well-attended talk, Professor Woodman gave a brilliant new reading of the dramatic context of Horace’s Ninth Epode: the various mysterious references of the poem are fully explained by a series of clues indicating that an off-shore drinking party is in progress and that the poem contains a series of speaker changes. This was a tour-de-force: one rarely sees an argument as meticulous or as masterfully presented as this. It was a privilege for all present to hear Professor Woodman speak.

Professor Woodman is a game-changing academic, now at the end of his career: his visit to Boulder was the final one he made in the US before retiring back to the UK in May. We were very honoured by his visit, and it gave our graduate students, especially the ones whose primary focus is Roman historiography and/or the intersection between poetry and historiography, a chance to meet and speak in some detail with a senior academic with a strong hand in shaping the field as they are encountering it today. In particular, Professor Woodman took the time to meet with four of our doctoral students and discuss their projects with them, as well as to meet individually with the faculty whose work is most closely connected to his (Jackie Elliott, Isabel Köster, Carole Newlands). The dinner after his talk included faculty at all ranks as well as two postdoctoral lecturers and was a very engaging affair. We are extremely grateful to the CWCTP for the opportunity to host Professor Woodman at the 11^th hour of his time on this side of the Atlantic and look forward to maintaining contact with him through what will doubtless be a very active and professionally engaged retirement.
 

The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. All CU Boulder faculty and students are eligible to apply If you are interested in applying for a , deadlines are rolling throughout the year.

Off

The Western Civ Dialogue Series present:

Federal Public Lands: The Past and Future of One Third of America

Thursday, 4/13/2017
4:00:00 PM-5:30:00 PM
Center for British and Irish Studies Room
Norlin Library
University of Colorado Boulder

Free and open to the public

The federal government owns and manages roughly one third of the nation’s land base. How did this come to be? Is it legal? Who has benefitted and who has been harmed? What is the best path forward for these varied and valuable terrains? They include our National Parks and Monuments, Wildlife Refuges, National Forests, and Bureau of Land Management lands. We hike, ski, and play on these lands. We also lease them for grazing and oil and gas drilling. These lands are home to threatened and endangered plants and animals, and serve as fonts for scientific research. They are loved by many, but their history is known by few. When stories erupt in the press about the occupation of a wildlife refuge or the selling off of three million acres of public lands, reactions are strong. But then the stories recede. Three eminent speakers will provide distinct views about the past and future of our public lands, and what they reflect about the past and future of our republic.

Featuring:

John Leshy, Hastings Law School
James Huffman, Lewis and Clark
Rebecca Tsosie, University of Arizona

Sponsored By:

Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy (CWCTP)
CU Law School
Conference on World Affairs (CWA)

Directions and Maps

Location: http://www.colorado.edu/userpages/webmap/map.html?bldg=LIBR
Campus Parking Map: colorado.edu/pts/maps
For more information: colorado.edu/CWCTP

Off

Rule of Law vs. Equity in the Lawcourts of Classical Athens

Monday, 04/10/2017
4:30PM
Humanities 250
University of Colorado Boulder

With Professor Sara Forsdyke, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

There has been a long-running debate about the extent to which the ideal of the rule of law determined the decisions of the courts of democratic Athens. This paper attempts to resolve the debate by breaking down the concept of the rule of law into its central components, and then demonstrating that the Athenians ascribed to some but not other components of this ideal. Most importantly, I demonstrate that the principle of Legal Certainty -  a central component of most modern concepts of the Rule of Law -  was significantly undermined by the value that the Athenians placed on considerations of equity.

Sponsored by:

Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy
Graduate Committee on the Arts Humanities

Results:

Sara Forsdyke's public lecture focused on the various aspects of the “rule of law” identified by modern legal scholars as an entrée to a contentious topic in ancient history, the extent to which Athenian courts adhered to the letter of the law or allowed more general considerations to play a part in their decisions.

Her presentation to Peter Hunt's class identified cases where Athenian slaves might took advantage of their knowledge of the law either to flee to a sanctuary or, more surprising, to enter into a collusive relationship with another citizen to the detriment of their master.  In Plato’s Laws, we find an early version of “noxal surrender,” the law that when a slave caused damage to a third person’s property, the master could either compensate the third party or hand over the slave.  Professor Forsdyke noticed that Plato also specified the recourse of the master in the case of collusion between the slave and third party, i.e., a fraudulent damage claim for the sake of obtaining ownership of the slave—with the slave playing a part for the sake of some reward. Her lunch with graduate students was particularly welcome because Prof. Hunt was teaching a seminar on Thucydides and Sara had just completed editing the Oxford Handbook of Thucydides.

The organizer Peter Hunt noted that after Prof. Forsdyke's visit, he has rethought and rephrased his judgment about slave sanctuaries to accommodate Sara’s points, which take a more optimistic view of the institution than he previously had.  This will be reflected in his book on Ancient Greek and Roman Slavery, which is currently in proofs. Prof. Hunt's students in Greek and Roman Slavery were very impressed with her arguments and method of teaching; her investigation of the collusive damage by slaves made a strong impression and showed up on many final exam essays. 

The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. All CU Boulder faculty and students are eligible to apply If you are interested in applying for a , deadlines are rolling throughout the year.

Off

CWCTP 

Thursday, 4/13/2017
4:00PM
Center for British and Irish Studies Room
Norlin Library
University of Colorado Boulder

Past and Future Conservative Scholars @ CWA

(2017-8 Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Polyicy)

(2013-4 Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy)

Off

04/05/2017
5:30PM
British and Irish Studies Room
Norlin Library
University of Colorado Boulder

Digital Humanities projects that aim to recover texts or authors are the most “alive” when they are under construction, in medias res, and a mess. That is, in the middle stages of production, digital projects circulate with the greatest audience engagement because they invite scholars to think about and manipulate data, structures, and interfaces from within to fix problems or augment existing content in meaningful ways. The advantage that digital scholarship has over print, in this context, is that it can remain in an un-done productive state for a long time, even during and beyond peer-review. 

This talk will discuss methodologies for promoting critical thought and recovery from within a digital object in the context of an ongoing Digital Humanities project I direct called The Stainforth Library of Women's Writing. You can visit the Stainforth project at . 

For more, see 

Co-sponsors: President's Fund for the Humanities, Center for Humanities and the Arts, Center for Western Civilization, Thought & Policy, Institute for Behavioral Sciences, Center for Research Data and Digital Scholarship, Institute for Cognitive Science, Faculty Teaching Excellence Program, Departments of English, Computer Science, Philosophy, Linguistics, Art and Art History, Political Science, and Anthropology

The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. All CU Boulder faculty and students are eligible to apply If you are interested in applying for a , deadlines are rolling throughout the year.

Off

In order to ensure we have enough seating for this event, . 

Read more about . 

The Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy presents:

The Benedict Option: The Future Of Religious Conservatism In Post-Christian America

Wednesday, 4/5/2017
6:00:00 PM-8:00:00 PM
Eaton Humanities 150**
University of Colorado Boulder

Free and open to the public

In a radical new vision for the future of Christianity, NYT bestselling author and conservative columnist Rod Dreher calls on American Christians to prepare for the coming Dark Age by embracing an ancient Christian way of life.

 in which he calls it "the most discussed and most important religious book of the decade". 

Featuring:

Rod Dreher, Writer and Senior Editor at The American Conservative

Sponsored by:

Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy (CWCTP)

DIRECTIONS AND MAPS

Location: http://www.colorado.edu/userpages/webmap/map.html?bldg=HLMS&x=25&y=10
Campus Parking Map: colorado.edu/pts/maps
For more information: colorado.edu/CWCTP

**Please note: earlier communications may have indicated that the lecture would take place in Hellems 201. As we expect a larger crowd, the lecture will now take place in Eaton Humanities 150 and Registration is recommended**. 

In order to ensure we have enough seating for this event, . 

Off

In order to ensure we have enough seating for this event, . 

The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy presents:

New Directions in American Foreign Policy

Monday, 4/3/2017
7:00:00 PM-9:00:00 PM
Benson Earth Sciences 180
University of Colorado Boulder

Free and open to the public

As the world's only superpower, the United States is charged with helping to organize the international system, enforce widely held norms, and make international institiutions work. Furthermore, the United States has unique credibility among nation-states because it was founded by a diverse group of immigrants to promote institutions work. Furthermore, the United States has unique credibility among nation-states because it was founded by a diverse group of immigrants to promote freedom and natural law. The status of the United States as the world's only superpower and most fully functioning multi-ethnic democracy may no longer be taken for granted. In concert with China and Russia, much of the global South is organizing itself into regional institutions and groupings that are expressly opposed to the West. At the same time, US citizens are struggling with what it means to be a multi-ethnic democracy. In her remarks, Proessor Kiron Skinner, a political scientist, historian, and public servant, will explore how these external and internal forces are colliding in ways that could possible remake the international system and redefine the United States. 

Featuring:

, Director and Associate Professor, Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University

, Dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver

Sponsored by:

Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy (CWCTP)

Directions and Maps

Location: http://www.colorado.edu/campusmap/map.html?bldg=BESC&x=23&y=8
Campus Parking Map: colorado.edu/pts/maps
For more information: colorado.edu/CWCTP

In order to ensure we have enough seating for this event, . 

Off