KINGSTON, R.I. – Aug. 28, 2024 – With all eyes on the U.S. election this fall, the University of Rhode Island Honors Program presents its 61st annual Honors Colloquium, “Democracy in Peril,” to draw attention to the challenges facing democracy here and abroad and highlight the importance of democratic values and institutions.

This year’s Colloquium will provide an opportunity for scholars, experts, and the broader community to engage in a thoughtful and informed dialogue on the meaning and importance of, and risks to, democracy. Speakers will examine the causes and consequences of democratic backsliding and discuss ways to work towards building stronger and more resilient democracies in the 21st century.

Co-coordinator Brian Krueger, associate dean of URI’s College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of political science, said organizers want to highlight democracy as a globally important topic regardless of election season, and that voters of any political affiliation can gain an informed perspective on the issues raised at this year’s program.

“Like the climate crisis, in many ways we are all in this together,” he says. “We hope to see URI students and community members engaging with our speakers and the series this fall. This colloquium is for everyone who cares about democracy.”

This year’s series will feature seven experts who will examine democracy across the globe and in the United States, the consequences of democratic erosion, role of political polarization and populism, impact of democracy disruptors and potential solutions.

The lectures will be held most Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Edwards Hall, beginning Sept. 17 and running through Nov. 12, one week after the U.S. presidential election. While all lectures are free and open to the public, registration is recommended. (The series will take a pause on Election Day.) Video links to the lectures will be available on the Honors Colloquium website the day of each event.

This year’s program’s coordinators are Marc Hutchison, chair of URI’s political science department; assistant professor Ashlea Rundlett, a specialist in political participation who has published on election fraud; Brian Krueger, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Elizabeth Mendenhall, a marine affairs associate professor who also teaches in the political science department.

They hope to foster wide dialogue at this year’s colloquium, and expand civic knowledge and involvement from students and community members, and say they have been pleased by interest in the topic on campus already.

“We look forward to welcoming the broader community into these discussions,” says Karen de Bruin, director of URI’s Honors Program.

The fall colloquium kicks off with Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent at Vox and author of the new book The Reactionary Spirit. He will open the lecture series with a talk on populism and the crisis of democracy at home and abroad, before the series moves beyond the U.S. to threats to democracy world-wide:

• Sept. 24, Daniel Ziblatt, “How Democracies Die.” Ziblatt is a political science professor at Harvard University specializing in democracy and historical political economy, well known for his book How Democracies Die, which spent many weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
• Oct. 1, Andrew Ifedapo Thompson, “Race and Democratic Backsliding in the U.S.” Thompson is a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on how attitudes on racial demographic change can shift how Americans think about democracy and can give rise to stronger anti-democratic views.
• Oct. 8, José Cheibub, “Global Cases of Democratic Decline.” Cheibub is a political science professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Focusing on democratic institutions, his work offers a global, comparative perspective on the emergence and decline of democracies, informing the debate on contemporary democratic challenges.
• Oct. 22, Risa Brooks, “Role of Militaries in Democratic Decline.” Brooks is a political science professor at Marquette University. Her research critically examines the relationship between military institutions and democratic governance, particularly how militaries can influence or undermine democratic norms.
• Oct. 29, Naomi Oreskes, “Disinformation and the Erosion of Public Faith in Government.” Oreskes is a professor of the history of science at Harvard University. She is a world-renowned earth scientist, historian, and author whose works examines the role of science in society and how the intentional disinformation campaigns have stymied climate action and eroded the American public’s faith in government.
• Nov. 12, Christian Davenport, “Repression and the Decline of Global Human Rights.” A political scientist at the University of Michigan, Davenport is a founding scholar in the quantitative study of state repression and is known for his work on the connection between human rights and democracy.

Krueger says coordinators wanted to host a mix of scholars, journalists and practitioners. He notes elections are just one key element of democracy and that the colloquium will explore other factors that maintain or disrupt democracy, in addition to free and fair elections.

“While many of the speakers will engage with U.S. politics specifically,” he says, “we have endeavored to highlight democracy as a global topic.”

Additional community offerings

In addition to the primary speaker series, this year’s colloquium topic has drawn wide interest and complementary work across campus.

A Community Voter Registration Drive will take place on campus on Sept. 24.

URI’s Center for the Humanities is hosting a yearlong lecture series on “Sustaining Democracy,” beginning Sept. 26, including poet Javier Zamora and Emily Drabinski, recent president of the American Library Association.

This year’s URI Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge is focusing on democracy as its 2024 theme, inviting students from any major to generate ideas that address social, political, environmental, and economic problems through democratic innovation and entrepreneurship.

URI’s Department of Art and Art History will also be presenting an exhibit on “The Politics of Personality” in Lippitt Hall, opening Oct. 1. The exhibit will explore the hype and reality of modern politics, sharing artist perceptions and perspectives on today’s political landscape. Exhibiting artists include alumni Raphael Díaz and Zoey Stites with Lois Harada, Jordan Seaberry, Joel Rosario-Tapia, Ana Flores, Don Mays and Anthony Tomaselli.

The URI Theatre season will begin in October with Machinal by Sophie Treadwell leading the 2024–25 season, directed by Rachel Walshe.

For the full roster of colloquium speakers and sponsors, visit the 2024 Honors Colloquium site. The annual university-wide educational forum is free and open to the public. Sign up here for more information and reminders for colloquium events or by emailing urihonors@etal.uri.edu.