SCC's 10th Annual Democracy Days Set for Sept. 14-17

Published: 08/19/2010

The Democracy Days program is free and open to the public. All presentations (with one exception) will take place in the auditorium of the Social Sciences Building on the college’s campus in Cottleville.

“There is a very good blend of topics in this year’s agenda,” said Michael Kuelker, SCC professor of English, who conceived and organized Democracy Days a decade ago. “Nine of the 14 offerings will deal in some way with global issues. The other five are well anchored in the domestic situation. Students are involved in two of the 13 presentations, and we have the most equitable mix of male and female presenters of any year yet.”

Among the domestic issues are immigration, race, health care, prison literature, banned books and women’s participation in the political process. Dan Rezny, SCC associate professor of history, recently returned from a National Endowment for the Humanities seminar in Jackson, Miss., where he studied the Mississippi Freedom Summer and the successful efforts in mobilizing democracy at the community level in 1964.

Rep. Sally Faith (R-MO 15th District), will return to SCC to give a talk titled, “So You Want to Run for Public Office.” She is a former member of the SCC Board of Trustees (1986-1995) and has served on many boards and commissions in St. Charles.

The mission of SCC’s Democracy Days is to explore the history, health and functioning of democracy in America and the world at large. Democracy Days, held annually around Constitution Day (Sept. 17), will include participation from SCC faculty, staff, administrators and students, as well as community members.

Guest speakers at Democracy Days over the last decade have included Mel Deng in 2006, who spoke about civil war and genocide in Sudan, and Joe McMillan in 2007, who was part of the legal team that pursued the momentous Hamdan v. Rumsfeld Supreme Court case.

From its beginnings in September 2001, the forum has always been responsive to events affecting the American citizen.

“Two weeks before our first Democracy Days, the terrorist attacks took place. Hal Berry of our History Department immediately changed his topic, went into accelerated organizational mode and put together an outstanding panel on America and the post-9/11 world,” said Kuelker. “It’s that kind of responsiveness which makes this event unique on campus and in our community. This year’s international topics – globalization and democracy, China, democracy in other parts of the world – are every bit as relevant.”

For more information on SCC’s Democracy Days, contact Kuelker at mkuelker@stchas.edu.

Democracy Days 2010 Agenda and Descriptions
Presentations will take place Sept. 14-17 in the auditorium of the Social Sciences Building, unless otherwise noted.
 
Tuesday, Sept. 14
10-11:20 a.m. – Beware of the Book!: Banned Books in a Democratic Society
The American Library Association defines intellectual freedom as “the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause, or movement may be explored.” Heather Rodgers, SCC associate professor of English, and Beth Schroeder, SCC assistant professor of English, will explore the importance of open access to information and the dangers of censorship. Rodgers and Schroeder will discuss how book banning and literary censorship pose a direct threat to intellectual freedom; both practices of which the United States has an extensive history. They will investigate notable examples of banned books and emphasize the importance of First Amendment rights.

11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m. – Women and Democracy: When Women Lead
Vicky Herbel, SCC associate professor of sociology, will lead a discussion of women in leadership positions in both democratic and non-democratic societies. This session will also examine why the United States lags behind other nations in regards to women in political leadership positions.

1-2:20 p.m. – SCC Student Panel Discussion on Democracy
Virginia Guneyli, SCC assistant professor of English, will moderate a talk on international democracy with a panel of SCC students from democratic countries around the world. They will describe their political parties, laws and political discourse of their countries of origin.
 
Wednesday, Sept 15
10-10:50 a.m. – Panel Discussion on Globalization and Democracy
Bill Kristen, SCC associate professor of sociology, will moderate a panel that includes Will Griffin, SCC professor of anthropology, and Paul Roesler, SCC professor of political science, on democracy and globalization. Will, or should, the spread of democracy necessarily go hand in hand with economic globalization? What are the long-range implications for a world that is economically connected yet very politically diverse?
 
11-11:50 a.m. – Prison Literature in America and Democracy  
Michael Kuelker, SCC professor of English, will look at the themes of power, justice and identity in American prison writings, concluding that this is a body of literature that collectively has much to say about the nation’s quality of democracy.  

Noon-12:50 p.m. – How the 2010 Health Care Reform Bill Will Change Your Health Care
Whether or not you favored the health care bill, it will likely affect you. Learn more as Roesler discusses some of the key provisions of the legislation, sorting out fact from fiction and explaining the bill’s effects on the existing health care structure and what these changes mean to you.

1-1:50 p.m. – Mississippi Freedom Summer
Fresh from a National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminar in Jackson, Miss., Dan Rezny, SCC associate professor of history, will examine the Freedom Movement in Mississippi. Through freedom schools, literacy programs and voter registration drives, black Americans in Mississippi organized their communities to assert their dignity, democratize the South and topple Jim Crow. Rezny will focus on the activity and heroism of local people, women, "bottom-up" leaders and mobilizers who played such a vital role during that time and seeks to both challenge and broaden the traditional historical civil rights narrative.

Thursday, Sept 16
10-11:20 a.m. – So You Think You Want to Run for Public Office
Sally Faith is a representative in the Missouri House of Representatives (District 15) and a former member of the SCC Board of Trustees. She will tell how one starts the process of running for office, what to do in a campaign and what happens once one wins (or loses) an election.

11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m. – Panel on President Obama and Race Relations
Nathan Daugherty, SCC adjunct political science faculty, Robert Ubriaco, SCC adjunct history faculty, and Christina Webster, SCC adjunct sociology faculty, will discuss the impact of President Obama on race relations in the United States. Bringing insights from their academic disciplines, they will explore the civil rights movement, race and identity and politics.

11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m. – Arizona’s Immigration Law: What It Does and Why It Matters (Room 205 of the Student Center)
In April 2010, Arizona signed into law the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (also known as Arizona SB 1070), which immediately sparked a nation-wide controversy. Jacqueline Pullen, SCC adjunct political science faculty, will discuss specific provisions of SB 1070, the constitutional issues surrounding the law and the impact this law may have on other states including Missouri. A central theme of Pullen’s comments will focus on how this strict anti-illegal immigration policy has been criticized as promoting racial profiling and being unconstitutional. The law was supposed to go into effect on July 29, 2010, but a federal judge blocked key provisions from being implemented.  

7 p.m. – “Sicko” Film and Discussion
Commonly regarded as Michael Moore’s best film since Bowling for Columbine, Sicko (2007) illustrates the problems with America’s health care system. This Academy Award nominee for documentary film is critical of both Democrats and Republicans for being too cozy with industry lobbyists. Moore travels to Canada, England, France and Guantanamo Bay in search of his story. Even Roger Friedman of Fox News called Sicko ‘brilliant and uplifting.’” Roesler will lead a discussion afterward. The film is rated PG-13.

Friday, Sept 17
10-10:50 a.m. – Yes We Can: Was It All Just a Fantasy?
Jennifer Rigdon, former SCC adjunct instructor of speech and communications, will explore Obama’s campaign, election and presidency as mythology. She will argue that from the messages of "Hope" and "Change We Can Believe In" to policy promises on Guantanamo and health care, Obama's candidacy and presidency have been built on a collectively created fairy tale. Focusing on Obama's own words, and the rhetoric of his opponents, supporters and current critics, Rigdon will employ fantasy theme analysis to analyze the Obama presidency.

11-11:50 a.m. – Democracy and the News
In the United States, the media can function as a government watchdog or lend its voice to various ideological viewpoints. Since colonial times, the American press has advocated for and against governments (both home and abroad) while playing a vital role in the preservation of free speech. Today, news media utilize cable channels and websites to cover, criticize and defend governments around the world. Darren Osburn, SCC associate professor of speech and communications, will examine how different governmental approaches to the news and public desire to know the truth affect press freedom around the world.

Noon-12:50 – The Bottom Line Versus the Party Line: Does the Emergence of a Free Market Economy Really Pose a Threat to Communist Party Rule in China?
Steve Randoll, SCC associate professor of history, will analyze the relationship between a market economy and democracy in China. After the death of Mao, Chinese leaders encouraged the development of a free market. These reformers reasoned that market reforms, which raised living standards, would reduce pressure for political reform. The U.S. encouraged market reforms in China in the opposite belief that greater economic freedom led inexorably to greater political freedom. Today advocates on both sides point to developments suggesting they were right.

St. Charles Community College is a public, comprehensive two-year community college with associate degrees and certificate programs in the arts, business, sciences, and career-technical fields. SCC provides workforce training and community-based personal and professional development as well as cultural, recreational, and entertainment opportunities. For more information, visit www.stchas.edu.