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We the People

Public Events at The Frances Young Teaching Museum and Art Gallery

Using the U.S. Constitution and the fall presidential election as catalysts, We the People explores how people create order, configure communities, and form a collective identity. A series of events and programs transforms the gallery into a laboratory for raising and critiquing ideas of community, citizenship , patriotism, and activism. We the People approaches the Constitution as a process embodied by the people who created it and whom it serves.

Tuesday November 6, 5:30 – 11:00 pm

What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Election & Election Returns Extravaganza

Discussion with Professor Ronald Seyb on the battle for the swing states, followed by live coverage of the election returns on mul-tiple screens: refreshments, contests, balloons, and more.

Tuesday November 27, 7:00 pm

The Return on the Returns: Two Different Views A Discussion with Erica Seifert ’02, Senior Associate at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, and Benjamin Clarke ’01, political consultant and freelance writer.

Dr. Seifert specializes in American politics and elections, voter participation, and U.S. economic issues. Her clients include National Public Radio, Women's Voices. Women Vote, Public Campaign Action Fund, and the Campaign for America’s Future. Benjamin Clarke has worked in Washington, D.C. as a political consultant and speechwriter for the past ten years, and served as chief political writer for GOP strategist Frank Luntz, speechwriter for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and communications consultant for Rudy Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign.

Sunday, December 9, 2:00 pm

All the King’s Men , (1949, B & W, 110 minutes, dir. by Robert Rossen)

Film screening and discussion lead by Natalie Taylor, Government Department and Jennifer Delton, History Department.

Having spoken with students with similar concerns, this past summer, I sought a way to create a more intellectual atmosphere at Skidmore outside of the classroom—or at least a setting in which such an atmosphere could exist once a week. A student-led reading group, I thought, would do the trick. Professor Flagg Taylor was kind enough to work with me in writing up a syllabus and mission statement. He suggested that the group be named the “Franklin Forum;” Benjamin Franklin had throughout his life met with friends to discuss ideas and political texts. The name had a certain elegance to it, and it was perfect for the group, which we decided would read texts in the history of social and political thought.

The group has hit the ground running, having met already four times and drawn in a core of about ten students. In preparation for each meeting, members are asked to read around 25 pages; sometimes it’s an excerpt from a larger work by a single author, sometimes it’s two essays written by differ-ent authors. So far, we’ve encountered Edmund Burke, Mi-chael Oakeshott, Milton Friedman, F. A. Hayek, Richard Weaver, and Russell Kirk, each offering a unique perspective on this semester’s topic, political conservatism. In the future, the Forum plans to bring outside speakers to campus and to attend off-campus symposia. We are always looking for new members.

T HE F RANKLIN F ORUM : A N EW R EADING G ROUP ON C AMPUS

C ONNOR G RANT -K INIGHT ‘15

The Franklin Forum meets each Sunday at 8:30pm in the Honors Forum lounge (Ladd 321). Readings for each week’s meeting may be picked up in the box outside of faculty advisor Professor Flagg Taylor’s office, Ladd 306a .