Upcoming Events

Towards Democracy: An exhibition tour of “not all realisms”
Time: Monday, March 27, 2023, 5:00 – 6:30pm CDT
Location: Smart Museum of Art, 5550 South Greenwood Avenue Chicago, IL 60637
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy and the Smart Museum of Art
Description: Please join the Smart Museum and the Democracy Curriculum at the Chicago Center on Democracy for an exhibit tour, followed by refreshments and a group discussion. The “Not All Realisms: Photography, Africa, and the Long 1960s” exhibit addresses photography in the context of Africa’s long 1960s—amid resistance, revolution, new nationalist and transnational movements, and the stuff of daily life therein. The exhibit focuses on Ghana, Mali, and South Africa, featuring photographic prints, reprints, books, magazines, posters, and other material means through which photography’s relationships to real people and events were articulated, produced, and circulated.

The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Authors Chris Tausanovich and Lynn Vavreck
Time: Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 6:00 – 7:15pm CDT
Location: Seminary Co-op Bookstores, 5751 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL 60637
Organizers: Chicago Center for Effective Government, the Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: Join the University of Chicago Center for Effective Government, the Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores on Wednesday, April 26, at 6 PM CT, for another installment of ‘The Democracy Series’– a joint initiative of public events featuring dialogue between book authors and experts on issues related to the state of democracy in the U.S. and abroad. Chris Tausanovitch, Associate Professor of Political Science, and Lynn Vavreck, Marvin Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics and Public Policy at the University of California Los Angeles, will discuss their book The Bitter End: The 2020 Presidential Campaign and the Challenge to American Democracy.

 

 

Previous Events

Jobs in Democracy Fields
Time: Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 12:30 – 1:30pm CST
Location: Virtual
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: A conversation about career options to support democracy, with Andrew Doty (Consultant, Rebuild Congress Initiative), Hajar Hammado (Policy Advisor, Demand Progress), Will Lutterman (Program Director, Careers in Policy and Social Impact, University of Chicago), and Andrés Marcuse-González (Recruiter, Democracy Fund).

How Democracies Live
Time: Monday, February 27, 2023, 2:30 – 3:45pm CST
Location: Harper Memorial Library, Room 130, 1116 E 59th St, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: The Chicago Center on Democracy welcomed Stein Ringen (Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Oxford) to campus to discuss a “meditation on what democracy is, the challenges it faces, and how it can be defended.” He was in conversation with Tom Ginsburg (Leo Spitz Distinguished Service Professor of International Law, University of Chicago).

Tour of the Chicago History Museum’s “Facing Freedom” exhibit
Time: Saturday, February 18, 2023, 10:15am – 12:45pm CST
Location: Chicago History Museum, 1601 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60614 (shuttle will be provided from campus)
Organizer: Democracy Curriculum at the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: The Democracy Curriculum organized a guided tour of the Facing Freedom in America exhibit at the Chicago History Museum, led by the museum’s Chief Historian, Peter Alter, who is also the co-curator of this exhibit.

Democratic Art: New Deal Art as Prototype and Problem
Time: Thursday, February 16, 2023, 4:00 – 5:30pm CST
Location: Harold Leonard Stuart Hall (room 102), 5835 South Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
Organizer: Democracy Curriculum at the Chicago Center on Democracy; Department of History
Description: What role can (and should) art play in contemporary society? What exactly is the relationship between “art and the state?” Join the Democracy Curriculum at the Chicago Center on Democracy and the University of Chicago’s Department of History in a conversation with Dr. Sharon Ann Musher, Associate Professor of History at Stockton University, to discuss her book Democratic Art. In her book, Dr. Musher draws on close readings of New Deal government-funded architecture, murals, photographs, and other art to determine the role that art played during the New Deal era. She then utilizes this in-depth historical analysis to examine how art can play a powerful role in contemporary society. Dr. Musher will be joined in conversation by Professors Alice Goff and Jim Sparrow.

Democratic Backsliding in Latin America
Time: Friday, February 10, 2023, 12:00 – 1:00pm CST
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Yale MacMillan Center Council on Latin American & Iberian Studies; Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: This virtual panel discussion, moderated by Yale Professor of Political Science Isabela Mares, discussed the backsliding in Latin America, covering the ongoing political situation in Peru and the riots in Brazil’s capital earlier in the month, ultimately providing an analysis of the current state of democracy in Latin America.

Revolution: What is it and why does it happen?
Time: Thursday, February 9, 2023, 5:15 – 6:45pm CST
Location: Kent 120 (1020 E 58th St)
Organizers: The College, Democracy Curriculum at the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: An in-person event exploring the question: What are revolutions and why do they happen? Lecture by Steve Pincus (History, UChicago), with comments by Lis Clemens (Sociology, UChicago) and Jim Sparrow (History, UChicago), and public conversation.

Guided tour of historical documents at the David Rubenstein Forum
Time: Monday, January 30, 2023, 5:00 – 6:00pm CST
Location: David Rubenstein Forum at the University of Chicago 1201 East 60th Street Chicago, IL 60637
Organizer: Democracy Curriculum at the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: Democracy Curriculum organized a guided tour for UChicago students of the Art at the David Rubenstein Forum program. This exhibit features documents like an early facsimile of the Declaration, one of the first newspaper printings of the Constitution, and the first official state department printing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Crucible of German Democracy: Ernst Troeltsch and the First World War
Time: Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 4:30 – 6:00pm CST
Location: Social Sciences Research Building, room 201 (Tea Room)
Organizers: Transnational Approaches to Modern Europe Workshop; Law, Letters, and Society; and the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: Robert E. Norton, author of the first comprehensive study of Ernst Troeltsch, visited UChicago to discuss Troeltsch’s activities during the First World War. Troeltsch was one of the most famous figures of his day: a renowned historian, philosopher, sociologist, and theologian. Drinks and light refreshments will be provided. No registration necessary.

Intro to Democracy Careers
Time: Tuesday, January 17, 2023, 1:00 – 2:00pm CST
Location: Ida Noyes Hall, West Lounge
Organizers: Fried Public Policy and Service Program; Democracy Curriculum program at the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: Interested in a career focused on protecting democratic institutions and furthering the conversation on democracy? Join us for a workshop to not only learn about ‘what a democracy career means’, but to hear about tangible career paths, internship opportunities, chances to get involved with research, and what are realistic next steps and expectations.

American Democracy and the 2022 Midterms
Time: Monday, December 5, 2022, 12:00 – 1:00pm CST
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Democracy Center at the University of Rochester; Bright Line Watch (multi-university initiative housed at the Chicago Center on Democracy); Democratic Erosion Consortium
Description: With unprecedented legal investigations focused on former president Trump and some of his supporters, widespread concerns about the willingness of candidates to concede election losses and ongoing threats of political violence, the fall of 2022 is a pivotal moment for American Democracy. Join expert panelists from Bright Line Watch and the Democratic Erosion Consortium to learn about findings from the October and November 2022 waves of the Bright Line Watch expert surveys and discuss their implications for American Democracy.

Watch the recording: Foreign Aid and Democracy
Time: Friday, December 2, 2022, 11:30am – 12:30pm CST
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: The Chicago Center on Democracy virtually welcomed Bann-Seng Tan from Ashoka University to discuss the link between foreign aid and the promotion of democracy. He was joined in conversation with Bruce Bueno de Mesquita from NYU.

Opening the People’s Eyes (At Least Partially): Machiavelli on Civic versus Princely Leadership
Time: Tuesday, November 29, 2022, 5:00 – 6:30pm CST
Location: Kent 107 (1020 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637)
Organizers: The College, Democracy Curriculum at the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: An in-person conversation that examined two of Machiavelli’s works to shed light on today’s populist vs. democratic worldviews.

The Future of Democracy in Brazil, with Dilma Rousseff, Former President of Brazil
Time: Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 5:30 – 6:45pm CST
Location: International House
Organizers: Center for Latin American Studies, Institute of Politics, UChicago Global, with co-sponsorship by the Chicago Center on Democracy and International House
Description: Polarized as never before, Brazil has just completed a historic presidential election, one of the most consequential in its history. Former President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, joined us for a conversation about the future of democracy in the country.

Brazil at the Crossroads: The Stakes for Democracy
Time: Thursday, October 20, 2022, 6:00 – 7:30pm CDT
Location: Saieh Hall For Economics (5757 South University Avenue), Classroom 203
Organizers: Center for Latin American Studies, with co-sponsorship by the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: An in-person conversation with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luís Roberto Barroso about the challenges the presidential elections pose to the country’s democracy.

Watch the recording: Roundtable 3 of 3: Referendums and Initiatives in Latin America – Spotlight on Rules and Institutions
Time: Friday, June 3, 2022, 9:00 – 10:30am CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, with Laura Escuder and Yanina Welp, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
Description: This is the final conversation in a series of three during spring 2022 focusing on referendums and initiatives in Latin America. During this conversation, we will explore why protests are common in Latin America, while referendums and initiatives are underutilized. We  heard views from officials with direct experience of referendums and initiatives in the region.

The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Authors E.J. Dionne, Jr. and Miles Rapoport
Time: Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 6:00 – 7:00pm CDT
Location: Keller Center Sky Suite and livestreamed virtually
Organizers: Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: E.J. Dionne, Jr., a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a professor at Georgetown University, and Miles Rapoport, the Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, discussed their book, 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting.

New Democracy: The Creation of the Modern American State
Time: Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 5:00 – 6:30pm CDT (reception 5:00-5:30pm, discussion 5:30-6:30pm)
Location: Virtual and in-person (750 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL)
Organizers: American Bar Foundation, co-sponsored by the Democracy Curriculum at the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: In the period between the Civil War and the New Deal, American governance was transformed, with momentous implications for social and economic life. A series of legal reforms gradually brought an end to nineteenth-century traditions of local self-government and associative citizenship, replacing them with positive statecraft: governmental activism intended to change how Americans lived and worked through legislation, regulation, and public administration. William J. Novak shows how Americans translated new conceptions of citizenship, social welfare, and economic democracy into demands for law and policy that delivered public services and vindicated people’s rights.

Watch the recording: Roundtable 2 of 3: Referendums and Initiatives in Latin America – Spotlight on Civil Society
Time: Thursday, May 19, 2022, 9:00 – 10:30am CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, with Laura Escuder and Yanina Welp, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
Description: This is the second in a series of three conversations during spring 2022 focusing on referendums and initiatives in Latin America. Across the region, protests are common, while other mechanisms for citizens to express their political voice—namely referendums and initiatives—are underutilized or used as an executive weapon. Is this due to a lack of knowledge, a lack of organizational capacity, or other reasons? During this second event, we discussed the difficulties of implementing direct democracy mechanisms in Latin America, with a particular focus on the current constitutional discussion in Chile.

Environment and Democracy in Brazil
Time: Wednesday, May 18, 2022, 12:30 – 2:00pm CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Part of the Outlook on Brazilian Democracy series, organized by the Center for Latin American Studies, and co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: Jair Bolsonaro has been called an “environmental villain” and “the world’s most dangerous climate denier.” However, the disasters of his presidency and the threats it poses must be situated in a longer history of energy infrastructures, land management, and environmental legislation in Brazil. This panel brought together specialists in hydropower, biofuel, agribusiness, and environmental protection to discuss the past, present, and future of the Brazilian state and Brazilian democracy in their relation to the environment.

The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Author Yascha Mounk
Time: Monday, May 16, 2022, 7:00 – 8:00pm CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: Yascha Mounk, SNF Angora Senior Fellow and Associate Professor of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, discussed his book The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart And How They Can Endure.

Watch the recording: The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Author Moisés Naím
Time: Monday, April 25, 2022, 5:30 – 6:30pm CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: Moisés Naím discusses his book The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century, in conversation with Sue Stokes.

Watch the recording: Referendums and Initiatives in Latin America
Time: Monday, April 25, 2022, 9:00 – 10:30am CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, with Laura Escuder and Yanina Welp, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
Description: Across Latin America, protests are common, while other mechanisms for citizens to express their political voice—namely referendums and initiatives—are underutilized or used as an executive weapon. Is this due to a lack of knowledge, a lack of organizational capacity, or other reasons?

Democratic Participation and Social Movements in Brazil
Time: Wednesday, April 20, 2022, 12:30 – 1:30pm CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Part of the Outlook on Brazilian Democracy series, organized by the Center for Latin American Studies, and co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: A discussion on contemporary social movements, plural demands, and democratic politics in Brazil and beyond. We brought together scholars focused on gender equality and reproductive rights, self-housing and urban mobility, conservative and authoritarian trends in social movements, and international networks of organized social action.

The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Author Deva Woodly
Time: Monday, April 18, 2022, 6:00 – 7:00pm CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: We virtually welcomed Deva Woodly from the New School for Social Research to discuss her book Reckoning: Black Lives Matter and the Democratic Necessity of Social Movements.

The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Time: Thursday, January 20, 2022, 6:00 – 7:00pm CST
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: Authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt joined us to discuss their book How Democracies Die.

Fair Elections in the Age of Fake News: Lessons from Brazil
Time: Wednesday, January 19, 2022, 12:30 – 2:00pm CST
Location: Virtual
Organizer: Center for Latin American Studies, co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: Brazil’s Electoral and Supreme Courts have played critical roles in ensuring the integrity of its elections and pushing back on organized disinformation campaigns. Supreme Court Minister Barroso shared his experiences and insights, discussing the implications for democratic resilience in conversation with a stellar panel of UChicago faculty.

The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Authors Alexander Bolton and Sharece Thrower
Time: Tuesday, December 14, 2021. 6:00 – 7:00pm CST
Location: Virtual
Organizer: Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: Join authors Alexander Bolton and Sharece Thrower as they discuss their book Checks in the Balance: Legislative Capacity and the Dynamics of Executive Power in the third installment of ‘The Democracy Series.’

Watch the recording: Democracies and International Law
Time: Thursday, December 9, 2021. 11:00am – 12:30pm CST (12:00pm – 1:30pm EST)
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Democratic Erosion consortium and the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: How can international law strengthen democracy in a time of rising authoritarianism? Tom Ginsburg, author of the new book Democracies and International Law, discusses this question with a set of esteemed panelists.

Film Screening: What is Democracy?
Time: Monday, November 15, 2021. 5:45pm CST
Location: Ida Noyes Cinema
Organizer: Democracy Curriculum program at the Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: An indoor screening of the film “What is Democracy?” This event is connected to the “Democracy’s Life and Death” course, but is open to all other invitees who are compliant with UChicago vaccination and mask requirements.

The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Author Spencer Ackerman
Time: Tuesday, November 2, 2021, 6:00-7:00pm CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: Join the University of Chicago Center for Effective Government, the Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores for the second installment of ‘The Democracy Series,’ a joint initiative of public events featuring dialogue between book authors and experts on issues related to the state of democracy in the U.S. and abroad. National security reporter and editor Spencer Ackerman will discuss his book Reign Of Terror: How The 9/11 Era Destabilized America And Produced Trump.

Bureaucratic Resistance to Global Autocratic Ambitions
Time: Tuesday, November 2, 2021, 9:00am-12:00pm CDT
Location: Virtual
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy and Center for Effective Government
Description: Please join us for a set of virtual panel discussions with scholars and practitioners about the prospects of bureaucratic resistance to populism across the globe.

The Democracy Series: A Conversation with Author David Stasavage
Time: Thursday, October 14, 2021, 4:30-5:30pm CDT
Location: Virtual, with a small in-person audience
Organizers: Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Seminary Co-op Bookstores
Description: This event marked the launch of ‘The Democracy Series,’ a joint initiative of public events featuring dialogue between book authors and experts on issues related to the state democracy in the U.S. and abroad. David Stasavage, Dean of NYU Social Sciences, will discuss his book, “The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today.”

Watch the recording: Bureaucratic Resistance to Autocratic Ambitions
May 26th, 2021
Organizers: UChicago Center for Effective Government, Chicago Center on Democracy, and Democracy Fund
Description: A panel discussion with scholars and practitioners about the prospects of bureaucratic resistance to populism in the United States.

Watch the recording: Democratic Erosion and Academic Freedom: Hungary, India, Turkey, and Beyond
May 13th, 2021
Organizers: Graduate students at University of Chicago Political Science department (co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: A discussion of recent attacks on academic freedom in Hungary, India, Turkey, and elsewhere

The Great Mediation: Perspectives on Politics and the New Media
Watch keynote 1: Francesca Polletta, Professor of Sociology at UCI, “Intimacy and Conspiracy: Social Imaginaries in Digitally-Mediated Right-Wing Populism“
Watch keynote 2: Chris Bail, Professor of Sociology, Public Policy, and Data Science at Duke University, “Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make our Platforms Less Polarizing“
May 6th and 7th, 2021
Organizer: University of Chicago Department of Sociology (co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: Recent populist movements have heavily relied on online mobilization. While there is a consensus that the new media environment is implicated in their success, theories and especially empirical research into the connections between populism, political affiliation and digital mediation often remain astoundingly superficial. In what ways is the media environment of the 21st century recasting the political? UChicago’s Sociology Graduate Student Virtual Conference will consider this question, among others around the topic of politics and the new media.

Watch the recording: Free Expression on Campus
April 27th, 2021, 12:45 – 2:00pm CDT
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse
Description: A high-level discussion about how to build space for inclusive and productive campus discourse.

Watch the recording: The Venezuelan Crisis: Economy, Democracy, and Geopolitics
April 9th, 2021, 10:45am – 12:00pm CDT
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, Center for Latin American Studies
Description: This panel of Venezuela experts will explore topics such as: Why has the country suffered the largest economic decline on record? Was the economic collapse a result of the democratic erosion, or independent of it? Why did the democratic decline start in economic boom times and accelerate during the bust? How does Venezuela’s democratic erosion compare to that of other countries?

Watch the recording: What Does a Democratic Public Sphere Look Like?
March 5th, 2021. 12:30 – 1:50pm CST
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse
Description: A conversation about concrete and theoretical questions around what a democratic public sphere looks like, such as: Should Twitter have banned Trump? How do we weigh the problems with media platforms against their positive impact in expanding opportunities for free expression? What is the role of government in regulating issues of free expression?

Eighteenth South Asia Graduate Student Conference
March 4th to 6th, 2021. 08:30am – 1:30pm CST
Online – More info here
Organizer: Student-organized (co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: Between Comparison and Context: Global and Local Movements in South Asia.

Watch the recording: Looking back on the Trump era: How did democracy fare?
February 18th, 2021. 3:30 – 4:30pm CST
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy; Center for Effective Government
Description: A conversation about what we have learned over the past four years about the strength of democracy. How close were we to a collapse of U.S. democracy? And why were the outcomes not worse than they were? Which institutions and actors served as guardrails?

Election 2020 Teach-in, 3 of 3: Beyond the Electoral Moment
Friday, January 15, 2021. 12:00pm CDT
Online – Register here
Organizer: Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy, among others)
Description: This panel will return us “full circle” to our opening panel. With some sense of the political landscape in the United States going forward, we ask what next?

What Is Happening in Belarus?
Saturday, November 21, 2020. 12:00pm CDT
Online – More info here, and register here
Organizers: Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies (co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: A round table discussion about protests and political events in Belarus, featuring human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, political scientist Michael McFaul, historian David Marples, comparative literature professor Olga V. Solovieva, and community organizer Zhanna Charniauskaya.

Fair and Free? The U.S. Election & Transfer of Power
Thursday, November 12, 2020. 12:30 – 1:30pm CDT
Online – Register here
Organizers: Project on Political Reform (Harris School), Chicago Center on Democracy
Description: Democracy in the United States of America is in the midst of an existential crisis. How can it recover? And what role can University of Chicago students play? Fresh off the heels of the the Bright Line Watch report “American Democracy on the Eve of the 2020 Election,” the Chicago Center on Democracy partners with Harris School of Public Policy’s Project on Political Reform (PPR) for a student Q&A. Faculty Chair of the Chicago Center on Democracy, Professor Susan Stokes, will answer student questions relating to the election process, risks to American democracy, opportunities to resist a plunge into authoritarianism, and lessons countries around the world can take from this fraught moment.

13th Annual University of Chicago International Education Conference: “The ‘Urban Revolution’ in Today’s Belarus and Why Women are Leading”
Monday, November 9, 2020. 6:00 – 7:15pm CDT
Online – Register here
Organizers: Center for East Asian Studies, Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, Center for Middle Eastern Studies (co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: Keynote: On August 9, 2020, Belarus, a post-socialist nation of nine and a half million, held presidential elections. After polling stations had closed, and Alexander Lukashenko, the president for the last twenty-six years, announced his victory with 80% of votes, people took to the streets. They have been protesting ever since, despite beatings by riot police, arrests, and even torture, demanding fair elections and the release of all political prisoners. The Belarusian revolution, as it is now called, became associated with the image of three women – a presidential candidate and two leaders of her team – raising their hands in the gesture of protest and solidarity. Elena Gapova will narrate the story of women emerging as the leaders of the Revolution as its most active and strong-willed participants.

13th Annual University of Chicago International Education Conference: Conference Keynote and Educator Workshop
Friday, November 6, 2020. 9:00am – 1:30pm CDT
Organizers: Center for East Asian Studies, Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, Center for Middle Eastern Studies (co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: Keynote: “Networked Protests and Democracy in the 21st Century” with Zeynep Tufekci (Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Educator Workshop: “Artistic Activism” Workshop with Stephen Duncombe (Professor, New York University)

Democracy in Crisis: Lessons from Ancient Athens
Friday, October 30, 2020. 6:30 – 8:00pm CDT
Organizers: Classics of Social and Political Thought core sequence; Democracy Curriculum (an initiative hosted by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: Observers of ancient Athens considered democracy to be a precarious form of government and way of life. Plato, Aristotle and Thucydides knew that democracy was imperiled or undermined by economic disparity, plots to overthrow the government, institutional corruption, and rampant suspicion. Join Demetra Kasimis, Matthew Landauer, John McCormick, and James Sparrow as they discuss the enduringly relevant insights that classical Greek thinkers have to offer us in these deeply disorienting times.

13th Annual University of Chicago International Education Conference: “Social Protests, Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Middle East: A Framework for Understanding”
Monday, October 26, 2020. 6:00 – 7:15pm CDT
Online – Register here
Organizers: Center for East Asian Studies, Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, Center for Middle Eastern Studies (co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: The Middle East seems to be perpetually in turmoil. This region is broadly identified in the American imagination with dictators, wars, the oppression of women, extremist movements and failed states. Are these problems the result internal cultural/religious factors or are the problems of Middle East attributable to external factors connected to foreign intervention and exploitation? How can educators begin to address this topic dispassionately, objectively and honestly? What is the best pedagogical approach to adopt when teaching this emotionally charged and controversial subject?

Election 2020 Teach-in, 2 of 3: Electoral Politics and Representative Governance
Friday, October 23, 2020. 12:00pm CDT
Organizer: Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy, among others)
Description: In this second teach-in, we considered relationships between elections, institutions and policy.

13th Annual University of Chicago International Education Conference: “How Beijing has Killed Hong Kong’s Freedom and Democracy and Why American Students Should Care”
Thursday, October 22, 2020. 6:00 – 7:15pm CDT
Organizers: Center for East Asian Studies, Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, Center for Middle Eastern Studies (co-sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy)
Description: Professor Victoria Hui will narrate Hong Kong’s struggle for freedom and democracy through two protest slogans: from “Today’s Tiananmen, Tomorrow’s Hong Kong” in 1989 to “Today’s Tibet/Xinjiang, Tomorrow’s Hong Kong” in 2020.

Watch the recording: Chile’s New Constitution and Mechanisms of Direct Democracy
Wednesday, October 14, 2020. 9:00am CDT
Organizers: Centro de Estudios Públicos (Chile), Chicago Center on Democracy, Center for Latin American Studies
Description: Mechanisms of direct democracy, such as referendums, may be an option to improve the quality of democracy. Chile’s population will vote on October 25th in a referendum to decide on whether to draft a new constitution. Two leading experts on referendums—Susan Stokes (UChicago) and David Altman (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)—discussed the Chilean referendum in the global context of how instances of direct democracy can be used and mis-used. Note: this discussion was mostly in Spanish.

Election 2020 Teach-in, 1 of 3: Popular Mobilization and Electoral Politics
Friday, October 9, 2020. 12:00pm CDT
Organizer: Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (sponsored by the Chicago Center on Democracy, among others)
Description: This panel takes a comparative and historically informed approach to the question of the relationship between protest politics and elections.

Watch the recording: The Importance of Election Integrity for Democracy
Thursday, September 24, 2020. 12:30 – 1:30pm CDT
Organizers: Cyber Policy Initiative (Harris Public Policy School), Chicago Center on Democracy

Watch the recording: Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy
Wednesday, September 16, 2020. 12:00 – 1:00pm CDT
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, Center for Effective Government (Harris Public Policy School)

Watch the recording: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy
Monday, August 17, 2020. 11:30am – 12:30pm CDT
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy

Watch the recording: Preserving Democracy during the Pandemic
Friday, April 17, 2020. 11:00am – 12:15pm CDT
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy

Lost Illusions: Democracy, Socialism, and Bankruptcy in Latin America
Monday, March 9, 2020. 5:00 – 7:00pm CDT
Classics 110 (1010 East 59th Street)
Organizers: Center for Latin American Studies, Chicago Center on Democracy

Working-Class Legislators and Perceptions of Representation in Latin America
Wednesday, March 4, 2020. 12:00 – 1:20pm CDT
Foster Hall 107 (1130 E 59th St.)
Organizers: Comparative Politics Workshop, Chicago Center on Democracy

Clientelism and the Political Behavior of Slum Dwellers
Monday, February 17, 2020. 12:00 – 1:20pm CDT
Foster Hall, room 103 (1030 E 59th St)
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, Center for Latin American Studies

The Partisan Origins of Democracy in Latin America
Monday, December 2, 2019. 12:00 – 1:20pm CDT
Foster Hall, room 103 (1030 E 59th St)
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, Center for Latin American Studies

Watch the recording: A Comparative Perspective on Impeachment
Friday, November 22, 2019. 2:30 – 3:30pm CDT
Social Sciences Tea Room (1126 E. 59th Street, Room 201)
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy

Watch the recording: Is Democracy in Crisis? An Interview with Adam Przeworski
Tuesday, November 5, 2019. 3:30 – 4:30pm CDT
Michelson Center for Physics, Room 201 (933 East 56th Street)
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy

Watch the recording: How Democracies Die: An Interview with Steven Levitsky
Monday, June 3, 2019. 1:15 – 2:00pm CDT
Social Sciences Tea Room
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy

Hungary’s Ordonationalism and the Re-Articulation of Neoliberalism
Monday, May 20, 2019. 4:00 – 5:00pm CDT
Wilder House
Organizers: Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory, Chicago Center on Democracy

A Conversation about Academic Publishing
Wednesday, May 8, 2019. 2:00 – 3:00pm CDT
Pick Hall lounge
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, Department of Political Science

Lunch and lecture: Reflections on Putin and the Media
Friday, May 3, 2019. 12:30 – 1:30pm
Pick Hall, room 506
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy

Lunch and lecture: Trumpism and American Democracy
Wednesday, April 10, 2019. 12:30 – 1:30pm
Social Sciences Tea Room
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy

Book launch: “Why Bother? Rethinking Participation in Elections and Protests”
Wednesday, April 3, 2019. 6:00 – 7:00pm
57th Street Books
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, 57th Street Books

Comparative Politics Workshop: Selim Erdem Aytaç
Wednesday, April 3, 2019. 12:00 – 1:20pm
Social Sciences Tea Room
Organizers: Comparative Politics Workshop, Chicago Center on Democracy

Watch the recording: Democracy and Money: An evening to discuss campaign finance reform
Tuesday, March 5, 2019. 4:45 – 7:45pm
Ida Noyes Hall – Library and Lounge
Organizers: Chicago Center on Democracy, Paul Douglas Institute, Reform for Illinois

Comparative Politics Workshop: Guadalupe Tuñón
Tuesday, March 5, 2019. 12:30 – 1:50pm
Pick Hall, Room 506
Organizers: Comparative Politics Workshop, Chicago Center on Democracy

Contemporary State-building through Democratization Processes
Monday, February 25, 2019. 4:00pm
Keller Center, Room 1022
Organizers: Colombians at UChicago, Chicago Center on Democracy

Welcome Reception for the Chicago Center on Democracy’s Graduate Student Affiliates Network
Monday, December 3, 2018. 5:00 – 6:30pm
Social Sciences Tea Room
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy

Lecture: Venezuela at a Critical Juncture: Challenges from Within and Without
Monday, November 12, 2018. 12:00 – 1:20pm
Foster 103 (1130 E 59th St)
Organizers: Center for Latin American Studies; Chicago Center on Democracy

Panel Discussion: The Outlook for Democracy in Brazil
Thursday, October 25. 5:00 – 6:30pm
Social Science Research Building, Room 122
Organizers: Center for Latin American Studies, Chicago Center on Democracy, Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory, Program on Political Violence at CPOST

Reception and Discussion: Populism and the Erosion of Democracy
Thursday, October 18. 5:30 – 7:00pm
Social Sciences Tea Room
Organizer: Chicago Center on Democracy