Colorado State University’s College of Liberal Arts is hosting a special weeklong event showcasing CSU’s longstanding efforts in democracy and civic spaces that includes two prominent speakers: Emmy-winning stand-up comedian and producer W. Kamau Bell and renowned political scientist Robert D. Putnam.
The College of Liberal Arts is leading the Democracy Summit April 8-12, with a series of events designed for students, employees and community members to explore what we mean by democracy and how democracy is experienced in a variety of contexts by a variety of people.
Bell will open the weeklong summit on Monday, April 8, with Putnam bringing the week to a close with a talk on Friday, April 12. Both speakers will highlight different approaches to the issues of community and culture.
With the upcoming November elections, Democracy Summit organizers are looking to showcase CSU’s longstanding efforts in democracy. This year, CSU instituted a Thematic Year of Democracy, a university-wide initiative that invites members of the campus community to participate in conversations and events focused on democracy. This has included visits by nationally known speakers during the spring semester such as actress and activist Jane Fonda and U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, among others.
Speakers
W. Kamau Bell | April 8 | 6:45 p.m.
Lory Student Center Ballroom 350 CD
Tickets
W. Kamau Bell, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning comedian, writer and producer, will be in conversation with President Amy Parsons about race, culture and democracy. Bell was host and executive producer of The United Shades of America, a CNN docu-series that followed Bell as he held conversations in communities across America to understand the unique challenges they face.
Robert D. Putnam | April 12 | 1 p.m.
Lory Student Center
Robert D. Putnam is the Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University, having retired from active teaching in May 2018. Putnam has written 15 books, including the best-selling Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community and Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, a groundbreaking examination of the growing opportunity gap.
For the latest information on events, visit thematicyear.colostate.edu/democracy-summit.
Democracy Summit events calendar
Between the two talks, the College of Liberal Arts is offering a host of events as part of the Democracy Summit. Events include a panel discussion on the historical and contemporary meanings of democracy with faculty from the University of Alabama, University of Pennsylvania and University of Denver on April 8.
Additionally, there will be a discussion of democracy with respect to Indigenous governance practices and barriers to political participation encountered by Native Americans on April 9.
The week also will include an April 10 film screening of The 5 States of Colorado, a feature-length documentary film focused on general regions within the man-made boundaries where cultures and identities have evolved from the land and its history.
April 11 will feature a host of panel discussions that include rural voices in democracy, election rights and engaging queer voices in democracy. In the evening, a screening of Join or Die, a film about Putnam’s social capital theory, will be held at Lyric Cinema, followed by a discussion of the Civil War’s impact on American democracy today.
For the last information on events visit thematicyear.colostate.edu/democracy-summit.
