Events

FALL 2009:

check it out!

SAVE THE DATE: CONSTITUTION DAY CELEBRATION!

Please plan to join us as we commenorate the ratification of the U.S. Constitution!

When: Thursday, September 17, 2009, 10:30am - 11.45am
Where: Lecture Hall 1
What: Professor James Pfiffner, a prominent expert on the Presidency, will give a talk in honor of Constitution Day:

The United States Constitution grew out of several centuries of struggle in England over the rights of individual citizens and the absolute power of monarchs.  The revolutionaries of 1776 felt they were being oppressed by a hostile monarch and being denied their rights as Englishmen.  The Framers of the Constitution embraced the individual rights that had been established in the preceding centuries in England, but they rejected the structure of government that fused parliamentary and royal power.

In order to limit the power of the government generally and particularly that of chief executives they created a separation of powers system.  But the imperatives of executive power did not disappear with the ratification of the Constitution, and presidents have made increasing claims to constitutional power in the 20th and 21st centuries, especially with respect to the Cold War and the war on terrorism.
Professor Pfiffner will examine the nature of executive power and how the Constitution attempts to constrain that power, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

James P. Pfiffner is University Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University.  His major areas of expertise are the Presidency, American National Government, and public management. In 2007 he was S.T. Lee Professorial fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of London. 

He has written or edited twelve books on the presidency and American National Government, including Power Play: The Bush Presidency and the Constitution (Brookings 2008), and Torture as Public Policy (Paradigm Publishers, 2010).  

Fall for the Book

Michael Signer, Demagogue: The Fight to Save Democracy from Its Worst Enemies (MacMillan, 2009).
Sponsored by The Democracy Project
When: Monday, September 21, 2009, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Dewberry Hall, South
What: Author talks about his highly acclaimed book, Demagogue:
“A demagogue is a tyrant who owes his initial rise to the democratic support of the masses. Huey Long, Hugo Chavez, and Moqtada al-Sadr are all clear examples of this dangerous byproduct of democracy. Demagogue takes a long view of the fight to defend democracy from within, from the brutal general Cleon in ancient Athens, the demagogues who plagued the bloody French Revolution, George W. Bush's naïve democratic experiment in Iraq, and beyond. This compelling narrative weaves stories about some of history's most fascinating figures, including Adolf Hitler, Senator Joe McCarthy, and General Douglas Macarthur, and explains how humanity's urge for liberty can give rise to dark forces that threaten that very freedom. To find the solution to democracy's demagogue problem, the book delves into the stories of four great thinkers who all personally struggled with democracy – Plato, Alexis de Tocqueville, Leo Strauss, and Hannah Arendt.”
Michael Signer is Senior Policy Advisor at the Center for American Progress and Senior National Security Policy Fellow at the think tank Third Way. He was Senator John Edwards' foreign policy advisor on his presidential campaign. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, and Democracy: A Journal of Ideas.
Come hear about it! For other Fall for the Book events, click here.

CHECK BACK FOR MORE EVENTS!!

SPRING 2010

Attention students:

spring 2009:

The Cultural Struggle for Power: The 2008 Presidential Election in the U.S.
Jeffrey Alexander, author of The Civil Sphere

Book reviews for The Civil Sphere

When: Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 7:20pm - 9:00pm
Where: Blue Ridge Hall (new building right behind the Registrar's trailer). Rm. 129
What: Really interesting talk about an important topic!

Co-sponsored with the Department of Anthropology and Sociology

Fall 2008:

get involved!

Check out: http://masonvotes.gmu.edu

The Democracy Project is working with a coalition of Mason students, faculty, and staff on voter registration.

POST-MORTEM ON THE 2008 ELECTION: 2 EXCITING EVENTS:

Roundtable on Women and the Election

When: Thursday, October 23, 3:00-4:30
Where: Gold Room (JC ground floor)
What: Faculty discussion of gender and the election -- with Q&A

FAIRFAX COUNTY REGISTRAR

Come meet the new Registrar and find out about early voting!

When: October 2, 2008
Where: SUB II, rooms 3 & 4
What: Talk by Rokey Suleman, Fairfax County General Registrar

fall for the book

Millennial Makeover: Myspace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics by Michael Hais and Morley Winograd.

Come hear Michael Hais discuss this fascinating book.

When: Monday, Sept. 22, 4:30pm - 5.30pm
Where: Provident Bank Tent, outside Johnson Center
What: Political Analyst Michael Hais, examines the intersection of politics and technology in his new study, Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics, co-authored with Morley Winograd.

constitution day

Come celebrate the ratification of the American Consitution!

When: Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1:30pm - 2.45pm
Where: The Meese Room, Mason Hall
What: A panel of experts will discuss the Second Amendment

The Right to Bear Arms: Issues Settled, Issues Raised

• National Rifle Association (NRA) Representative, on the right to bear arms
• Professor Robert Dudley, on the Heller decision
• Brian Siebel, The Brady Foundation, on gun control issues
• Kathleen A.Kelmelis, Fairfax County Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services on the use of firearms in domestic violence

check back soon for more exciting events!!!

Past Events

Spring 2008:
Thinking About Democracy in a Global Context

Panel discussion of new book:
Jo-Marie Burt, Silencing Civil Society: Political Violence and the Authoritarian State in Peru

Date: April 3, 2008
Time: 6:00pm
Place: Mason Hall D3

r.s.v.p. to Andrea Zizack at azizack@gmu.edu

the effects of us immigration policy on people

(Part of Mason’s “Text and Community” events)

Panel:

• Deirdre Moloney, Woodrow Wilson Center (historical issues)
• Cristina Finch, Human Rights Campaign (LGBTQ issues)
• Peter Mandaville, Center for Global Studies (academic freedom issues)
• Tiffiany Howard, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (forced migration and international refugees)

Date and Time: Thursday, Apr. 10, 2008, 3:00pm.
Location: SUB II Ballroom, Fairfax Campus, George Mason University

gender and social justice

Date: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Place: To be advised
Co-Sponsor: Women and Gender Studies

second annual student-organized democracy conference

Date, Time and Location to be advised

focus the nation: global warming solutions for america

Date: Jan 29, 2008 - All day teach-in begins at 12:00pm at Dewberry Hall (part of a nationwide teach-in)

• See http://www.gmu.edu/focusthenation/ for more information and list of co-sponsors.

LECTURE: bell hooks, "Democratic Education: What is the role of higher education in promoting participatory democracy and social justice?"

(a 'Moments of Truth' event with many co-sponsors)

Date: March 17th
Time: 3:30-5:00
Place: Harris Theater

iraq war: five years later

1) Iraq Film: "Iraq in Fragments"

Date: Monday, March 18, 2008
Time: 7:00pm
Place: Johnson Center Cinema

2) Lecture: James Pfiffner, "President Bush and the Constitution."

Date: Monday, March 24, 2008
Time: 1:30pm
Place: Johnson Center Cinema

Fall 2007 Events

Virginia Post-Election Forum @ George Mason University

Please come for a stimulating discussion of the 2007 Virginia election. We’ll dissect the results, discuss what they mean for Virginia, and what they portend for the 2008 presidential election.

Speakers:
Lawrence Czarda, Vice President, Regional Campuses, George Mason University
Amy Gardner, Reporter, The Washington Post
Michael McDonald, Professor, George Mason University
Mark Rozell, Professor, George Mason University

Moderated by: 
Robert Dudley, Professor, George Mason University

Date and Time: Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007. 1:30-3pm.
Student Union Building II, Ballroom (Fairfax Campus)

On the Eve of the Election: The Immigrant Issue and the Challenge to Virginia's Communities

Sponsored by Mason Project on Immigration and The Democracy Project

Date: Thursday, November 1, 2007
Time: 7:30
Place: Dewberry Hall North

The question of immigration policy has become a hot button issue that
has polarized many communities across our nation, including many
counties and municipalities that have sought to adopt restrictive
policies toward undocumented or illegal immigrant groups. Especially as
Virginia's election draws near, there is a pressing need for reasoned,
informed discussion of immigration and the challenge it poses to
Virginia's communities.

The forum will include Rev. Stephen Smith-Cobbs, Pastor of Trinity
Presbyterian Church in Herdon, Virginia and affiliate of Project Hope
and Harmony, Ms. Maria Teresa Petersen, founding Executive Director of
Voto Latino, a youth organization seeking to galvanize the fastest
growing eligible voting block in America, and Ms. Claire Guthrie
Gastañaga, the principal and chief strategist of CG2 Consulting, a firm
that provides strategic legislative services and public policy advice .
She currently represents nonprofit groups before the Virginia General
Assembly, including the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations.

Fall for the Book

Professor Broadwater, who teaches history at Barton College in North Carolina, has written a “fascinating” and “engrossing” biography of Mason’s namesake. Publishers Weekly calls the book “a standout.” Come hear about it! For other Fall for the Book events, click here.

Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Time: 6:00
Place: Harris Theater

U.S. Elections: The Hispanic/Latino Vote

As part of Hispanic Heritage month, come learn about how Hispanics/Latinos have affected U.S. presidential elections!

Date: Thursday, September 20, 2007
Time: 6:00
Place: SUB II, Rooms 5 & 6

Celebrate Constitution Day with cake and conversation!

“What was the founding generation thinking?”

Please join us for a dialogue about the context from which the Constitution and the Bill of Rights arose – and enjoy some celebratory cake! Featured speakers include Dr. Randolph Scully (Virginia history), Dr. Claire Snyder (democratic theory), Dr. Roger Mellen (American history), and Dr. Jim Pfiffner (American politics).

Date: Monday, September 17, 2007
Time: 12:00
Place: Johnson Center Cinema