Colonel, U.S. Army

Natural Selection & War

Thursday, November 17, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Today’s advances in evolutionary biology are unifying competing theories of natural selection and serve as a timely call for a similar unification of competing theories of war. This lecture explores the relationship between war and natural selection by first examining war’s biological origins, and then placing them within a multidisciplinary framework called the Nature of War Theory.

This theory, as its name implies, reconciles natural selection and war to reveal a shared overarching and paradoxical duality, displaying that war is characterized by the simultaneous violent interplay of evolutionary individual-level and group-level adaptations, manifested by individualist and altruistic wars, respectively, and highlighted by trends and insights recognizable to both students of war and evolutionary biology.

This event is sponsored by The Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Departments of Biology and Psychology.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
Colonel Olsen was commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers upon graduation from the University of Wisconsin where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography. He has held leadership positions in Army engineer units in Europe, the Middle East, Read more

Founder and Creative Director of Dancing Ink Productions

Nothing to Hide?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

While Facebook has served as a catalyst for discussions about privacy issues, it’s only one aspect of a major shift permeating the world. Platforms come and go but privacy issues continue to influence and shape modern life. Perceptions of what privacy is and what it’s worth are changing. In addition to internet privacy issues, urban environments are increasingly filled with surveillance cameras. Nearly everybody on the street is carrying a mobile device, maybe capturing some fragment of your story arc in the form of an image or overheard snippet of conversation. Digital algorithms can piece together the puzzle of your life by recognizing your patterns, habits and even your face. How will the construction of identity and society be affected? How will *you* be affected?

This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of American Studies, Math and Computer Science and Sociology.

Biography (provided by the speaker)

Rita J. King is a writer, conceptual artist and entrepreneur. As the executive vice president of business development at Science House and founder of Dancing Ink Productions, her work centers on the Read more

Panel Discussion

Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Stern Center, Great Room – 7:00 p.m.

Panelists

Larry Goodson, professor of Middle East studies, U.S. Army War College
Thomas Barfield, professor of anthropology at Boston University and president of the American Institute for Afghanistan Studies.
Marvin Weinbaum, Scholar-in-Residence, Middle East Institute in Washington, DC
Moderated by David Commins, professor of history, Dickinson College

In the context of the Obama Administration’s upcoming review of its policies in Afghanistan, a panel of experts will address the following questions: What are the intensity and depth of U.S. interests in Afghanistan? Are these interests vital to U.S. national security? If the interests are vital, can the U.S. achieve these interests with the existing policy/strategy or is some other policy/strategy required? If the interests are not vital to U.S. national security, why is the U.S. spending so much blood and treasure in Afghanistan?

Biographies (provided by the panelists)
Larry P. Goodson is professor of Middle East Studies at the U.S. Army War College. He is regularly consulted by senior government officials about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East. In 2008-2009 he served on a four-month temporary assignment with the U.S. Read more

Project on Government Secrecy, Federation of American Scientists

WikiLeaks–A Flood of Secrets: National Security vs. Free Speech

Thursday, October 7, 2010
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

The recent disclosure of up to 90,000 classified documents relating to the Afghanistan War has underscored the difficult balance between preserving open government and preserving national security. Underlying issues that will be addressed include the problem of over classification, the scope of the Espionage Act, and the challenges of protecting sources and methods in the age of the internet.

Biography (provided by the speaker)
Steven Aftergood is a senior research analyst at the Federation of American Scientists. He directs the FAS Project on Government Secrecy, which works to reduce the scope of government secrecy and to promote reform of official secrecy practices.
He writes Secrecy News, an email newsletter (and blog) which reports on new developments in secrecy policy for more than 10,000 subscribers in media, government and among the general public.

In 1997, Mr. Aftergood was the plaintiff in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency which led to the declassification and publication of the total intelligence budget ($26.6 billion in 1997) Read more

Omar Bradley Chair
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
7:00 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room

The American Use of Military Force Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 there were hopes for a peaceful new world order and even predictions of the end of history. As it turned out, the United States has sent major military forces into action nine times in the 19 years since then. Two major conflicts are continuing today in Afghanistan and Iraq. Admiral Blair will address how the United States has used military force in recent years, successfully and unsuccessfully, and how to think about what the country should do in Afghanistan and Iraq. Co-sponsored by the department of political science.

Issue in Context
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the end of nearly a half-century of Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States emerged victorious, affirming its superiority in the international arena. President H. W. Bush declared grand expectations for a “new world order” – the United States would finally be able to fulfill its founding fathers’ visions of freedom. There were Read more

Monday, February 26, 2007
7:00 p.m. – Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium
Thomas E. Ricks, Pulitizer-prize winning journalist, The Washington Post, and author

As the title, “Fiasco” suggests, Thomas E. Ricks views the American war in Iraq as a misguided exercise in folly and incompetence. His book provides a detailed and comprehensive critique for anyone interested in understanding how the United States came to go to war in Iraq, how an insurgency emerged, and how these events will affect the future of the United States. Ricks will discuss his findings and respond to questions from the audience.
Co-sponsored by International Business & Management and Political Science

Issue in Context
As of February 19, 2007, the official U.S. death toll in Iraq was 3,133, more than ten times the fatal casualties of all other coalition countries combined. The U.S. has invested about $500 billion in the Iraq war, but several audits over the last couple of years have revealed incomplete or unreliable documentation on the spending of several billions of dollars. A recent Washington Post article revealed that nearly 100 million dollars in cash intended for rebuilding projects in south-central Iraq cannot even be accounted Read more

Thursday, February 16, 2006
Avian Influenza and the Economics of Bio Security
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m. Issue in Context
A form of avian influenza, known as “fowl plague,” first appeared in Italy around 1878. It was first recognized in the United States in 1924, and occurred again in 1929. The disease was eradicated both times. In recent months, concern surrounding avian influenza has escalated. The latest cases lie along the migratory routes of birds, as in Turkey , where the H5N1 strain has taken several lives. The greatest fear, however stems from the possibility that H5N1 may evolve into a form of disease that will cause a virulent global human pandemic with a high mortality rate.

The threat posed by avian influenza is causing growing fear and raising many questions: Is fear justified? What are the scenarios for public health, the economy, and society? What are the underlying driving forces of this disease, and what can and should be done in response?

About the Speaker
Stephen Aldrich is the founder and President of Bio Economic Research Associates (bio-era), a leading independent research and advisory firm providing insight into the future of Read more

Thursday, November 3, 2005
Presidential War Powers: From Lincoln to Bush

Part I: Common Hour DEBATE: Resolved: The War in Iraq is Just
David Perry, professor of ethics at the U.S. Army War College
Russ Bova, professor of political Science at Dickinson College.
Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall, 12:00 p.m.

Part II: Teach-In. When Does a War End?: War Powers and the Lessons of Reconstruction after the American Civil War
Michael Vorenberg, author of Final Freedom and professor of history at Brown University
Stern Center, Great Room, 2:00 p.m.

Part III Roundtable: Presidential War Powers: Historical Perspectives from Lincoln to Bush
John Yoo, former deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice and professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley
Louis Fisher, Senior Specialist in Separation of Powers for the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress; and Michael Vorenberg, author of Final Freedom and professor of history at Brown University
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.

Issue in Context- Debate
There is much political debate in America today over whether the most Read more