105 America 2018: Where are we now?

05/30/18 • 24 min

America's founding political commitments were to democracy and the rule of law. Some have described them as the soul and spirit of our nation. But their meanings are contested and open to interpretation. Professor Sarat discusses how the've evolved in American history and assesses the health of the United States today. Does America face an erosion of public faith in long taken-for-granted aspects of our political life? Do we even understand what they really mean? Some believe that the rule of law and democracy are under attack, but could it be this is be a symptom rather than a cause of what some see as our current crisis? Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He has written, co-written, or edited more than ninety books in the fields of law and political science. Professor Sarat has received the the Stan Wheeler Award for his excellence as a teacher and mentor, awarded by the Law and Society Association.

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104 Science vs Faith: Addressing History's Oldest Debate

Modern science has its roots in western religious thought, was nurtured in universities established for religious reasons, and owes some of its greatest discoveries to scientists who themselves were people of faith. Nonetheless, on one issue after another, from evolution to the "big bang" to the age of the Earth itself, religion is often on a collision course with scientific thought. On one side, religious believers have constructed pseudosciences to justify narrow interpretations of scripture or to support specific religious claims. On the other, non-believers have used scientific authority to label faith a "delusion" to be set aside. Can science and religion truly coexist or are they forever locked in conflict? Kenneth Miller approaches this question from a unique perspective. In focusing on a few of today's most contentious issues, he explores if science can be understood in a religious context, or have we finally reached the end of faith? Kenneth Miller is a professor of biology at Brown University. He has received 6 major teaching awards at Brown, the Presidential Citation of the American Institute for Biological Science, and the Public Service Award of the American Society for Cell Biology. In 2009 he was honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for Advancing the Public Understanding of Science, and also received the Gregor Mendel Medal from Villanova University. In 2011 he was presented with the Stephen Jay Gould Prize by the Society for the Study of Evolution.

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106 Music That Changed America

Music permeates our lives. It's always with us - via the radio, smart phones, TV commercials and films, even streamed into malls and restaurants. Technology has made it easy to put music in the background. The goal of this lecture is to bring it front and center again. Professor Celenza shows how music doesn't simply reflect culture, it can change it. She highlights three musical masterpieces that, each in their own way, changed America for the better. A 1930s ballad that fueled the need for the Civil Rights movement, a 1980s pop album that influenced American foreign policy, and a recent musical that that forced us to reassess history. Anna Celenza is the Thomas E. Caestecker Professor of Music at Georgetown University. She is the author of several books, including "Jazz Italian Style: From Its Origins in New Orleans to Fascist Italy and Sinatra." In addition to her scholarly work, she has served as a writer/commentator for NPR's Performance Today and published eight award-winning children's books, among them "Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue" and "Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite." She has been featured on nationally syndicated radio and TV programs, including the BBC's "Music Matters" and C-Span's "Book TV."