CWCTP Newsletter - February 2019

Thursday, February 7, 2019
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Hale Sciences, 270

Does truth matter in contemporary U.S. politics? What’s wrong with our civic discourse? Is the press more part of the problem or solution? What needs to change? Panelists will discuss these and related questions in a moderated public conversation.

Featuring: 
Kelsey Harkness, Senior News Producer at The Daily Signal, the multimedia news organization of The Heritage Foundation
Rod Hart, American Scholar in media and politics, Allan Shivers Centennial Chair in Communication at the University of Texas at Austin
Amy Westfeldt, Managing Editor of NewsGuard, a plug-in ratings service of news providers

Wednesday, February 13, 2019
7:00-8:30 PM
University Memorial Center 235

Please note new time and location. Toxic ideas first spread by higher education have undermined humanistic values, fueled intolerance, and widened divisions in our larger culture. Students emerge into the working world convinced that human beings are defined by their skin color, gender, and sexual preference, and that oppression based on these characteristics is the American norm. Speech that challenges these campus orthodoxies is silenced with brute force. Mac Donald argues that the belief in America’s endemic racism and sexism drives these problems. A metastasizing diversity bureaucracy in academia and the workplace denounces meritocratic standards as discriminatory, enforces hiring quotas, and teaches students and adults alike to think of themselves as perpetual victims. The solution is a return to the classical liberal pursuits of open-minded inquiry and expression, by which everyone can discover a common humanity.

Featuring:
Heather Mac Donald, Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Contributing Editor for City Journal, NYT Best-Selling Author

This event is part of our American identities series. 

For this event, RSVP is required for guaranteed admittance

Friday, February 15, 2019
5:30-7:00 PM
University Memorial Center 235

Dr. Tukufu Zuberi is the Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, and Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He is dedicated to bringing a fresh view of culture and society to the public through various platforms such as guest lecturing at universities, television programs, and interactive social media. Currently, he works on human rights initiatives by participating in public speaking engagements, international collaborations with transnational organizations, and individuals dedicated to human equality. 

This event is part of our American identities series. 

For this event, RSVP is required for guaranteed admittance.

Monday, February 25, 2019
5:30-7:00 PM
Eaton Humanities 250

Across Europe and throughout the West two different brands of conservatives are considering if and to what extent they can collaborate: traditional conservative advocates of small government and robust free markets on the one hand, and national conservative champions of border security and cultural preservation on the other. In his presentation, Sweden Democrats Chief Ideologue, Former Party Leader, and Member of Parliament Mattias Karlsson argues that these conservative camps are natural allies and must unite.

Featuring: 
Mattias Karlsson, Swedish Member of Parliament
Moderated by Benjamin R. Teitelbaum, Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology

Thursday, March 7th, 2019
5:30-7:00 PM
Hale Science 270

James Piereson describes the inevitable political turmoil that will overtake the United States in the next decade as a consequence of economic stagnation, the unsustainable growth of the government, and the exhaustion of postwar arrangements that formerly underpinned American prosperity and power. The challenges of public debt, the retirement of the “baby boom” generation, and slow economic growth have reached a point where they require profound changes in the role of government in American life. At the same time, the widening gulf between the two political parties and the entrenched power of interest groups will make it difficult to negotiate the changes needed to renew the system. While others claim that the United States is in decline, Piereson argues that Americans will rise to the challenge of forming a new governing coalition that can guide the nation on a path of dynamism and prosperity.

Featuring:
James Piereson, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, President and Trustee of the William E. Simon Foundation

Thursday, March 14th, 2019
5:30-7:00 PM
Hale Science 230

Attorney Mark Pulliam will present a high-level and non-technical overview of common misconceptions about labor unions, drawing on labor economics, political philosophy, labor history, and the law, which collectively govern labor relations in America.

Featuring: 
Mark Pulliam, Attorney and Commentator with work featured in the Wall Street Journal, City Journal, and the National Review

Wednesday, March 20th, 2019
5:30-7:00 PM
Hale Sciene 270

Last spring, Justice Elena Kagan, charged the Supreme Court’s conservative justices with “weaponizing the First Amendment.” In this talk, Laura Weinrib will explain how radical labor activists first “weaponized” the First Amendment during the 1930s. Their unlikely coalition with business leaders made judicial enforcement of free speech a central feature of American constitutional democracy. Weinrib will explore why their forgotten bargain backfired, with important implications for the contest over constitutional rights today.

Featuring: 
Laura Weinrib, Professor of Law and Associate member of the Department of History at the University of Chicago Law School

Friday, February 8th, 2019
7:00-9:00 PM
Chemistry 140

Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, of Providence College, will debate Dr. Carol Cleland of the University of Colorado over the intersection of religious faith and science. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are free for all CU students and a suggested $5 donation for all others. Tickets will be available online for non-student tickets only (a small processing fee applies for online sales). Mark your calendars as tickets are expected to go quickly!

For more info, please contact the Catholic Center at 303- 443-8383, or email Dr. Scott Powell: scott.powell@thomascenter.org.

Monday, February 25, 2019
4:00PM in Hellems 269

Socrates supposed that all practical errors were consequences of ignorance, and so held that there is no such thing as akrasia, whereby the agent allegedly knows that he is acting contrary to his best judgment. Plato (Republic IV) and Aristotle (NE VII) both reject Socrates' view as psychologically unrealistic, holding that the prospect of pleasure, for example, can lead one to act akratically. I shall argue that Augustine's diagnosis of his youthful theft of the pears in Confessions II shows that Plato and Aristotle did not fully emerge from the unrealistic 'rationalism' they object to in the Socratic view, because in neglecting the role of unconscious fantasy in human action, they make the role of pleasure in undermining judgment, as it were, too intelligible.

Add a second language to your resume through a grant to study one of the many languages connected to the field of western civilization. Many students choose to use these language training grants abroad. These grants are typically awarded for study during the summer and are open to both graduate and undergraduate students. Students may also use the grants as a subsidy toward any internship that relates to Western Civ, including law, government, public policy, and education. Many students can find internships related to the professional practice of Western Civ in our nation's capital.

There are now two ways to apply for the CWCTP Student Language Study or Internship Grants:

1) The traditional application
2) Using Acadmic Works

All application forms and associated documents are due March 6th, 2019. Email westciv@colorado.edu for questions about the application process. 

Congratulations to CWCTP Program Management intern Natalie Hagewood for recieving the 2018 CU Education Abroad Student of the Year Global Citizen award!