Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021
12 p.m.
Virtual event for campus participants. Email Dr. Philip Ardoin, ardoinpj@appstate.edu to join this Zoom session.
Considering the January 6 attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and continuing efforts to undermine the electoral process, and the electoral success of authoritarian candidates in the U.S. and abroad, the Departments of Government and Justice Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies will host a virtual forum discussing "Threats to Democracy at home and abroad."
Dr. Renee Scherlen, professor, political science; Dr. Curtis Ryan, professor, political science and Joseph Gonzalez, associate professor, interdisciplinary studies - global studies will discuss how events abroad shed light on challenges to democracy in the U.S. and provide lessons about the potential for authoritarianism as well as strategies for successfully countering it. The panelists will examine these issues in a comparative political and historical perspective, including insights from experiences in Latin America and the Middle East.
Scherlan's areas of teaching and research focus on U.S. foreign policy and Latin American politics. Scherlen currently serves as co-chair for the University's Global Engagement Council and is the faculty advisor for International Relations Association, that hosts of the Model UN held here at ASU every Spring and Fall.
Ryan served as a Fulbright Scholar (1992-93) at the Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan, in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and was twice named a Peace Scholar by the United States Institute of Peace. In addition to his contributions to Middle East Report, Ryan’s articles on Middle East politics have been published in the Middle East Journal, The British Journal of Middle East Studies, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, World Politics Review, Middle East Insight, Arab Studies Quarterly, Israel Affairs, Orient, Southeastern Political Review, Journal of Third World Studies, Middle East Policy and the Journal of Middle East Law and Governance.
Gonzalez has teaches in Watauga Residential College, Interdisciplinary Studies, Global Studies and the Honors College. He also teaches a short-term study abroad in Cuba every other year. When not teaching, he is completing a history of Cuba's relationship with the United States, titled "Facing the Sun: Cuba's Challenge to the American Empire, 1895-1917."
###
About the Department of Government and Justice Studies
Appalachian State University’s Department of Government and Justice Studies offers undergraduate programs in political science and criminal justice, and graduate programs in political science and public administration. Housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, the department has over 600 undergraduate majors and more than 70 graduate students. Learn more at https://gjs.appstate.edu.
About the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies offers degrees in three program areas: global studies; gender, women’s and sexuality studies; and interdisciplinary studies. The department is also home to Watauga Residential College, an interdisciplinary, alternative general education program. The department promotes creative and imaginative engagement through a cross-disciplinary investigation of complex systems and problems. Learn more at https://interdisciplinary.appstate.edu.
Discussion virtual event with Dr. Renee Scherlen, political science; Dr. Curtis Ryan, political science and Joseph Gonzalez, interdisciplinary studies - global studies.
Threats to Democracy at Home & Abroad event graphic for Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 12 p.m