Dartmouth College announced on April 1 a new lineup of speakers for its spring term Law and Democracy: The United States at 250 series, which will include journalist Ezra Klein, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed ’81, and Ford Foundation President Heather Gerken.
The event series aims to give students and the community opportunities to engage with important questions about policy, law, and governance as the country marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Organizers say that bringing together experts from various fields allows participants to explore core issues in American democracy.
Ezra Klein, who is a columnist for The New York Times and host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast, will join Heather Gerken—president of the Ford Foundation and Sterling Professor Emeritus at Yale Law School—on April 16. Their discussion will focus on the state of U.S. democracy, prospects for what Klein calls the “Abundance Agenda,” and future directions in politics and policy. Russell Muirhead, Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics at Dartmouth, will moderate their conversation.
Annette Gordon-Reed ’81 is scheduled to present “The [Un]conscious [Un]raveling of History” on May 14 as part of her role as Montgomery Fellow this spring. Gordon-Reed is a professor at Harvard University known for her book On Juneteenth. Former White House counsel Bob Bauer will appear alongside Jack Goldsmith—former head of the Office of Legal Counsel—for a talk about executive power on May 20.
Other speakers this term include Beth Jantz ’99 (magistrate judge), Bob Bixby (senior advisor at Concord Coalition), Dahlia Lithwick (Slate Magazine editor), Frances Lee (Princeton professor), Silvia Foster-Frau (Washington Post reporter), Jeffrey Rosen (National Constitution Center CEO emeritus), Maggie Blackhawk (NYU law professor), Laurie Santos (Yale psychology professor), Daniel Gilbert (Harvard psychology professor) among others.
Herschel Nachlis, senior associate director at Dartmouth’s Rockefeller Center said: “The Law and Democracy series explores our system of government, its fundamental values, and its core tensions. The spring lineup promises to continue offering the Dartmouth community a broad range of expertise and viewpoints as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
According to organizers, more than a dozen experts have already visited campus through this ongoing initiative.
