We’ll be attending this timely and relevant event at the University of Minnesota – you should too!

Dissent and American Democracy
Friday, April 24^th
1:00-3:00pm
Cowles Auditorium, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
301 19^th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN

“The Intersections of Dissent”: What is the value of dissent within a democracy, and how is it best promoted and protected?  Does the term “dissent” capture the values, rights, and groups that we think need to be protected?  Framed as an abstract principle, can the goals of protecting “dissent” be appropriated, deployed, and diluted in ways that lead to the exclusion or suppression of the voices of some marginalized groups?  Dara Strolovitch will discuss these multiple valences of dissent, focusing in particular on their relationships with the intersecting politics of race, class, gender, and sexuality.

“The Suppression of Dissent”: Over the past century, actors in government and mass media have repeatedly taken steps to silence political dissent in the United States. Focusing on surveillance as a critical step in the process of suppression, Jules Boykoff will explore the historical and contemporary development of efforts to limit dissent. How do such efforts affect the practice of democracy in the United States? How can activists sidestep these efforts and raise the chances that dissenting voices will be heard?

Following the speakers, an open forum will be moderated by Joe Soss, Cowles Professor for the Study of Public Service

Dara Z. Strolovitch (Ph.D. Yale University, 2002) is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of Affirmative Advocacy: Race, Class, and Gender in Interest Group Politics (University of Chicago Press 2007).

Jules Boykoff (Ph.D. American University, 2004) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and Government at Pacific University in Oregon. He is the author of Beyond Bullets: The Suppression of Dissent in the United States (AK Press, 2007).

Tags: beyond bullets, dana strolovitch, dissent, jules boykoff