Colloquium on the American Founding Events
This Fall the Colloquium was held September 24 & 25, 2010.
Talks and Speakers For the Colloquium Weekend
"Adventures of a Conservative in Hollywood"
Date: Friday, September 24
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Description: Tim Kelleher, actor, director, writer and current editor of "New Media" at First Things, will open the colloquium with his adventures as a conservative and pro-lifer in Hollywood. Kelleher has been in dozens of films and is a founder of the Colony Theater.
Location: Lewis Sebring
Valentine Hall
"Does a Democracy Have a Place for the 'Great Souled' Man"?
Date: Saturday, September 25
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Description: Robert Faulkner, professor of political science at Boston College will give a talk titled "Democracy and the Great-Souled Man." How does a democracy draw talented leaders to its head, and how can that talent be reconciled with a culture of one man-one vote? Faulkner is a prolific writer; his most recent books are The Case for Greatness: Honorable Ambition and Its Critics (2007) and America at Risk: Threats to Liberal Self-Government in an Age of Uncertainty (co-edited, 2009). Faulkner is also the author of shorter studies on Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and other statesmen and intellectuals, and of Aristotle, Machiavelli, Locke and other political philosophers.
Location: Friedmann Room
Keefe Campus Center
"Two Former Students in Iraq--and Two Separate Paths"
Date: Saturday, September 25
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Description: Matt Flavin, Amherst College Class of 2002 and Peter Hegseth, Princeton Class of 2003 discuss the paths that took them both to Iraq. Flavin and Hegseth hold different political views and will discuss their perspectives on war and the political scene. Flavin, served in Afghanistan and Iraq and was a targeting and intelligence director for Special Operations Task Force West; he also served as an operations officer in Bosnia. He advised the Obama campaign on national security issues, was part of the transition team and currently serves as special assistant to the deputy Secretary of Defense. Hegseth was a platoon leader in Baghdad and a Civil-Military Operations officer in Samarra. He has made several trips back to Iraq as a journalist. He is in graduate work now at the Kennedy School at Harvard and is the executive director of Vets for Freedom.
Location: Friedmann Room
Keefe Campus Center
"A View of the Political Landscape"
Date: Saturday, September 25
Time: 12:15 p.m.
Description: Noah Silverman, Amherst College Class of 1992, will give his report of the political landscape on capital hill. Silverman is the Director of Congressional Relations for the Republican Jewish Coalition.
Location: Friedmann Room
Keefe Campus Center
"The Constitutional Challenge of Obamacare"
Date: Saturday, September 25
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Description: John Baker, Dale E. Bennett Professor of Law at Louisisana State University will talk about “Obamacare.” Many of the arguments for a constitutional challenge to “Obamacare” under the Commerce Clause seem unlikely to succeed. Baker’s teaching experience in the separation of powers gives him special insight to possible challenges available to parts of the Obama plan. Baker will review the case against the unconstitutionality of the plan. Baker made quite an impression when he last visited the colloquium five years ago; his talk was titled “Homeland Security, Katrina, Rita and Federalism: Screening out the Constitution.” He has taught all over the world and each summer teaches a course with Justice Scalia on separation of powers.
Location: Friedmann Room
Keefe Campus Center
"Obamanomics: a Critical Perspective"
Date: Saturday, September 25
Time: 315 p.m.
Description: Victor Canto, founder and chairman of La Jolla Economics, will offer an assessment of Obamanomics from an economist’s perception; his talk is titled “Obamanomics: a Critical Perspective. Canto is well-known for his business savvy, along with his acumen as economist in investment, research and writing. He has published and edited several books and was a tenured professor at the University of Southern California, a director, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Calport Asset Management and president and director of research at A.B. Laffer, V.A. Canto & Associates.
Location: Friedmann Room
Keefe Campus Center