Skip Navigation
You Are In: Education & Culture > American Studies Seminars > March 2008
Skip Left Section Navigation

American Studies Seminar March 2008

Understanding the 2008 Presidential Election in a historical context

Wednesday, March 26 - Explaining U.S. Politics 

  • 16:30 - 17:00 | Arrival - Registration
  • 17:00 | Welcome Remarks
  • 17:15 - 18:00 | Lecture: "Fuzzy Math Meets the Texas Two-Step: Parties and Elections in the U.S."
  • 18:00 - 18:30 | Break
  • 18:30 - 19:30 | Panel: "The Electoral System and Parties in EU and  Greece"
  • "The Electoral System - EU"
  • "The Electoral System - Greece"
  • "U.S. - EU political systems and electoral systems - a comparison"
  • 19:30 - 21:30 | Film: All the King's Men (109' 1949)
  • Discussion led by Prof. Goldfield, Robert Lee Bailey Professor of History, University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Thursday, March 27 - The 1948 Election and the origins of the Civil Rights Movement

  • 16:30 - 17:00 | Arrival of students
  • 17:15 - 18:00 | Lecture: "The 1948 Election: The Issues and the Candidates"
  • 18:00 - 18:45 | Lecture: "Lift Every Voice and Sing: Reflections on the Roots of the Civil Rights Movement
  • 18:45 - 19:15 | Break
  • 19:15 - 20:15 | Panel: "The Culture of Change"
  • "Social and Demographic Changes"
  • Flannery O' Connor and the Cold War"
  • Campaign Financing and Free Speech"
  • Discussion

Friday, March 28 - The 1960 Election and Kennedy's Mandate for Change

  • 16:30 - 17:00 | Arrival of Students
  • 17:15 - 18:00 | Lecture: "The 1960 Election: The Issues and the Candidates"
  • 18:00 - 19:00 | Panel: "Kennedy Legacy and Reality"
  • "Kennedy's Foreign Policy and his international appeal"
  • "How to Do Conspiracy Theory with Fetishism: Oliver Stone's JFK"
  • "The Peace Corps and educational values"
  • 19:00 - 19:30 | Break
  • 19:30 - 20:15 | "US Foreign Policy: Continuity and Evolution"

Saturday, March 29

  • 10:00 | Student arrival
  • 10:30 | Lecture: The 2008 Election: The Candidates and the Parties, Domestic Policies, Foreign Policy" G. Calvin Mackenzie, Colby College, The Goldfarb Family, Distinguished Professor of American Government, Colby College
  • 11:30 | Break
  • 12:00 - 13:00 | Examination
  • 13:00 - 14:00 | Reception
  • 14:00 | Graduation ceremony