September 20–November 29, 2016
Coordinators: Jill Doerner, Kristin Johnson, Erik Loomis, and Liam Malloy
Inequality is a defining theme of our political, social, and economic lives. We are committed to a future where all people have the opportunity to live the American Dream, in which everyone has the freedom to prosper, progress and live well.
The 2016 Honors Colloquium examines the tension between these concepts across a range of salient issues. We raise questions about the influence of inequality on social mobility, the ability to seek political and social change, and across gender, race and class. Please join us for a discussion on the influence of inequality on our daily lives and prospects for the future.
Speakers
September 20
Immigration
Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto
Political Analyst and Professor
University of Texas at Austin
September 27
Race, Diversity, and Education
Kimberlé Crenshaw
Professor of Law
UCLA and Columbia Law School
Diversity Week Keynote Speaker
(No Live Casting or Archiving of this talk)
October 4
Historical Perspectives
Jefferson Cowie
Professor of History
Vanderbilt University
October 11
Poverty and Homelessness
Deanna Trella and Timothy Hilton
Professors of Children’s Studies and Social Work
Eastern Washington University
October 18
Gender
Caroline Fredrickson
Lawyer, Author
President of the American Constitution Society
Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Women’s Studies Lecture
October 25
Workplace
Saru Jayaraman
Director, Food Labor Research Center
UC Berkeley
November 1
Politics
John Nichols
National Affairs Correspondent
The Nation magazine
November 15
Labor
Mark Levinson
Mark Levinson is the Chief Economist for The Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Mr. Levinson received his Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research. He previously worked as Chief Economist for UNITE HERE and UNITE and as an economist at the United Automobile Workers (UAW) and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). His writings on economic policy, the global economy and labor rights have been published in the New York Times, The Nation, The American Prospect, Dissent (where he is also book review editor), New Labor Forum and Boston Review. In 2002-2003 Mr. Levinson was a Revson Fellow at Columbia University. In 2005-06 Mr. Levinson was the co-director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Agenda For Shared Prosperity.
November 29
What Is to Be Done About Inequality?
Jelani Cobb
New Yorker Staff Writer
Director of the Africana Studies Institute, UConn
Additional Events
September 13
Wall Street
Edwards Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Film Series on Inequality
October 5
Inequality and the Cuban Dream: A Conversation
Swan Hall Auditorium, 6 p.m.
Watch the video
October 13–16 and 20–23
Good People
By David Lindsay-Abaire
URI Fine Arts Center
Presented by the URI Theatre Department
October 18
Every 28 Hours Theatre Initiative
Livestreamed from Trinity Repertory Company
Edwards Auditorium, 9 p.m.
Major Sponsor
URI Honors Program
Sponsors
URI Office of the President • URI Office of the Provost • The Mark and Donna Ross Honors Colloquium Humanities Endowment • The Thomas Silvia and Shannon Chandley Honors Colloquium Endowment • URI College of Arts & Sciences • URI College of Pharmacy • URI John Hazen White Sr. Center for Ethics and Public Service • URI Gender and Women’s Studies Program • URI Multicultural Student Services Center • URI Theatre Department • URI College of Engineering • URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences • URI College of Health Sciences • URI College of Business Administration • URI College of Nursing • URI Division of Student Affairs • URI Department of Communications and Marketing • URI Department of Publications and Creative Services • URI ITS Instructional Technology and Media Services • URI Feinstein College of Education and Professional Studies • URI Charles T. Schmidt, Jr. Labor Research Center