The UO Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics kicks off its winter/spring 2013 Public Affairs Speaker Series, "Governing a Polarized Republic: Is This Any Way to Run a Democracy?" with a roundtable discussion, Governing after the 2012 Election, at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30 in the Gerlinger Lounge.

The roundtable will feature Richard Ellis, Willamette University; Alison Gash, UO; Melissa Buis Michaux, Willamette University; and Dan Tichenor, UO.

The speaker series explores how fiscal policy and profound ideological, cultural, partisan and institutional rifts are shaping gun control, immigration reform and other pressing concerns on the public agenda.

The six speaking events will address the so-called "war on women;" the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements; the decline of civility in American politics; the shifting politics of immigration and race; and the influence of new media on political participation.

"These presentations are geared for broad audiences, so those who attend should have plenty to sink their teeth into,” said Dan Tichenor, the Wayne Morse Senior Faculty Fellow.

The events are free and open to the public.

Upcoming speaking events:

A War Among Women? Ideological Polarization and the Construction of Women's Interests, featuring Ronnee Schreiber, San Diego State University, at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, March 14, Gerlinger Lounge.        

Angry Politics: The Role of (in)Civility in American Democracy, featuring Cornell Clayton, director of the Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University, 5 p.m., Monday, April 15, 110 Knight Law Center.   

The Two Populisms of the Great Recession: The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street
Featuring Joe Lowndes, 2013 Wayne Morse Resident Scholar, and Cas Mudde, University of Georgia, 7 p.m., 
Thursday, April 18, 110 Knight Law Center.

Immigration and Race: Did the 2012 Election Change Anything?, featuring Karthick Ramakrishnan, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Riverside, 3:30 p.m., Thursday, May 2, Gerlinger Lounge.                                                   


New Media, Race, and Participatory Politics: Democracy in the 21st Century, featuring Cathy Cohen, University of Chicago, 4 p.m., Thursday, May 16, 110 Knight Law Center.