Tocqueville Imagining America: Upcoming Events
Imagining America: Art Exhibit
SOU Art Major Cat Smith displays a painting entitled "Imagining America" in her senior art show in the Thorndike Gallery, SOU Art building from April 8 through April 23. The painting was created as part of an "Imagining America" assignment in Peg Sjogren's Fall 2009 painting class, in keeping with the SOU campus theme of Tocqueville Imagining America. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, contact 541 552-6386.
Tocqueville, Trust and Social Capital
On Thursday, April 15, 2010, from 12:00-1:30 p.m., in the Meese Room of the Hannon Library, Dr. Victoria Sturtevant, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at SOU, and Dr. Echo Fields, Associate professor of Sociology and Anthropology at SOU, will lead a brown bag discussion on social capital. Alexis de Tocqueville placed special significance on the role of voluntary associations in American democracy. The concept of social capital, which refers to the benefits of social networks among individuals in society, became popular with the writings of Pierre Bourdieu and James Coleman in the 1980s, but it was really Robert Putnam's claim that social capital was on the decline in the United States that ignited strong debate about the issue. The discussion is free and open to the public. For more information, contact 541 552-6740.
Please Vote for Me
On Friday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. in Hawthorne Classroom of Cascade Hall, the film Please Vote for Me will be shown as part of the University Seminar. In the film, a Chinese documentary, a third grade class in a Chinese school is introduced to the process of voting in a Communist society. A funny, tender and often revealing film, the presentation opens a large discussion about American democracy. Everyone is welcome. For information, call 541 552-8404.
Is Democracy Achievable? Lessons from Alexis de Tocqueville
On Monday, April 19, 2010, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in the Presentation Hall of the RCC-SOU Higher Education Center, 101 S. Bartlett Street in Medford, Dr. Prakash Chenjeri, Associate Professor of Philosophy at SOU, will examine the question 'Is Democracy Achievable?', drawing on some of the prescient observations made by Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. This two-volume work has been described by the Harvard scholar and historian Harvey C. Mansfiled as "the best book ever written on democracy and the best book ever written on America." The presentation is part of the regular monthly Community Forum sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at SOU and is open to the public at no cost. Refreshments are available starting at 9:30 a.m. For more information contact 541 552-6048.
Schneider Museum of Art Exhibit: The Mythical State of Jefferson
May 6 - June 12 at the Schneider Museum of Art on the SOU campus. The Schneider Museum is open from Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, visit http://sma.sou.edu. Suggested donation $5.00.
