KINGSTON, R.I. – Oct. 30, 2024 – Political scientist Christian Davenport, of the University of Michigan, will discuss “Democratic Solutions, Dead Ends, and Don’t Knows” at the University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium Tuesday, Nov. 12, the last speaker in this year’s colloquium lecture series. A research professor at the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Davenport focuses on political conflict and violence, measurement, racism, and popular culture.

Davenport, whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Business Insider, Vox, The Guardian, and the Atlantic, is co-director of the Transnational Repression Project, the Conflict Consortium, the Conflict & Peace Initiative, and the Radical Information Project. His research examines political conflict, violence, and human rights, with a focus on both global patterns and individual cases.

Hosted by the University’s Honors Program, the 61st edition of URI’s premier lecture series, “Democracy in Peril” has examined the challenges democracy faces while many students at the University, and elsewhere, are voting for the first time this fall. Organizers say they have hoped to call attention to the perilous status of democracy worldwide, raising awareness of the challenges it faces and offering ways for citizens to help strengthen democracy.

“The premise of this year’s colloquium is simple but urgent,” says Ashlea Rundlett of URI’s political science department. “Democracy is under threat.”

This year’s colloquium series examines threats to democracy at home and abroad. Davenport’s talk comes one week after the U.S. presidential election, though colloquium coordinators have noted that this fall’s lecture series is not only about the 2024 presidential race.

Davenport will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at Edwards Hall on the Kingston Campus. His address will also be streamed (livestream links will be available the night of each event on the colloquium website).

This year’s colloquium has drawn wide interest across the URI campus, including a visit from former U.S. congressmen James Langevin and Adam Kinzinger, talks by Vox’s Zack Beauchamp, author Daniel Ziblatt, climate influencer Naomi Oreskes and others. A campus art exhibit on ‘The Politics of Personality’ will remain on display through Dec. 12.

“This year’s Honors Colloquium has demonstrated once again the political science department’s emphasis on engaging URI students in important conversations that are relevant to their lives,” says Jeannette Riley, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “It’s been a vibrant learning experience for the entire URI community.”

The Honors Colloquium will return in September 2025 examining Education.

The URI Honors Colloquium is free and open to the public; talks from this fall’s series can be viewed here. Register to get updates for next year’s series here or by emailing urihonors@etal.uri.edu.