UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College is set to host a yearlong conversation that focuses on the challenges facing modern democracy. The program, titled "Dilemmas of Democracy," will feature a lecture and a three-part faculty symposium.
“There are many great minds researching, writing about, teaching and discussing what it will take for modern democracies to overcome their current challenges and thrive in the future,” said Patrick Mather, dean of the Schreyer Honors College. “We are grateful for the opportunity to present 'Dilemmas of Democracy' to our University community so that these ideas can be shared and grow among our students, faculty and staff.”
Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, will present "Dilemmas of Democracy: A Conversation with Timothy Snyder on Freedom and Democracy," as the program’s featured lecture.
Scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18, at the State Theatre in downtown State College, Snyder’s lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets to “A Conversation with Timothy Snyder on Freedom and Democracy," are available through the State Theatre website.
Snyder is a prominent historian and author, and is known for his expertise in European history, particularly in the areas of Eastern and Central Europe. He was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford, has received the Carnegie and Guggenheim Fellowships, and holds state orders from Estonia, Lithuania and Poland.
He has appeared in documentaries, on network television, and in major films. Snyder's books have inspired poster campaigns and exhibitions, films, sculptures, a punk rock song, a rap song, a play and an opera.
"Dilemmas of Democracy" was made possible by a generous contribution from Penn State alumni Art and Betty Glenn. The Glenns are loyal Penn State alumni who have remained engaged with the University for decades.
Art Glenn graduated in 1956 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering while Betty Glenn graduated with a bachelor of science degree in home economics in 1957. A former vice president of multiple units at GE, Art was honored as an Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in 1990, an Alumni Fellow in 1996, and a Distinguished Alumni in 2005. He also served for many years on the Honors College’s External Advisory Board.
“The goal for 'Dilemmas of Democracy' is to provide the audiences with a deeper understanding of the ways that powerful countries are changing our world every day,” said Art Glenn. “It is important to me that students are aware of and having conversations about these changes. That type of awareness will be valuable for Penn Staters from all walks of life.”
“When Art approached the college with the model for a year-long conversation, including expert voices from outside and inside of Penn State, I found it to be a natural fit with the work already happening in Schreyer and at the University,” said Mather. “Art’s contribution gives our scholars the opportunity to meaningfully explore this critical topic through a series of engagements.”
"Dialogues of Democracy," a three-part symposium led by Penn State faculty, will follow Snyder’s lecture and keep the conversation going throughout the year. It features Christopher Beem, managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy; Dennis Jett, founding member of the Penn State School of International Affairs and former member of the U.S. Foreign Service; and Boaz Dvir, associate professor of journalism and director of the Hammel Family Human Rights Initiative and the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State.
The "Dialogues of Democracy" schedule and a full description of each symposium are available on Schreyer Honors College's events page.