Drexel Law Review Symposium: Knowledge at Risk: Democratic Erosion and the Contemporary Assault on Education and Expertise

Drexel Law Review Symposium

Knowledge at Risk: Democratic Erosion and the Contemporary Assault on Education and Expertise

Schedule:
Friday, November 3, 2023 • 8:00am to 5:00pm (reception to follow)
Saturday, November 4, 2023 • 9:00am to 1:45pm

Location:
3320 Market Street, Room 140, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Description:
In recent years, academic institutions and individual scholars and teachers in the United States and other countries have faced a rapidly growing panoply of politically and ideologically motivated efforts to restrict teaching and research on "controversial subjects," particularly (but not exclusively) with respect to race and gender. Over this same period, scholars and other observers also have increasingly warned that in many of these same countries, the weakening of political institutions has placed democracy itself at risk. This symposium seeks to "connect the dots" between these two sets of developments, examining the contemporary assault on education, knowledge, and academic expertise and exploring its relationship to growing concerns about the erosion of democracy. Participants will discuss the extent to which democratic erosion has facilitated or contributed to the assault on education, knowledge, and expertise and the extent to which that assault should itself be understood as "anti-democratic" in character. Participants will also discuss strategies to protect academic freedom and educational integrity in the face of this onslaught, and the various ways that education and knowledge production can contribute to the protection and advancement of democratic principles, practices, and institutions.

Scheduled participants include:

Keynote Speakers:
• Sigal Ben-Porath —Professor, University of Pennsylvania
• Hon. Anna V. Eskamani —Member, Florida House of Representatives
• Hon. Helen Gym —Former City Councilmember At-Large, Philadelphia City Council

Panelists:
• Jacqueline Allain—Program Coordinator, Freedom to Learn, PEN America
• Eve Darian-Smith—Professor and Chair, Department of Global and International Studies, University of California, Irvine
• Morenike Fajana—Senior Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Katrina Feldkamp—Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Liliana Garces—Professor, University of Texas at Austin
• Jonathan Glater—Professor, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
• Emily Houh—Gustavus Henry Wald Professor of the Law and Contracts, University of Cincinnati College of Law
• Antonio Ingram—Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Jyoti Jasrasaria—Associate, Elias Law Group LLP
• Isaac Kamola—Associate Professor of Political Science, Trinity College
• Liz Leininger—Associate Professor, St. Mary's College of Maryland
• Bethany Letiecq—Associate Professor, George Mason University
• Alison Macrina—Director, Library Freedom Project
• Dara Purvis—Professor, Penn State University School of Law
• Henry Reichman—Professor Emeritus of History, California State University, East Bay
• Jennifer Ruth—Professor and Associate Dean, College of the Arts, Portland State University
• Allison Scharfstein—Education Fellow, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Kim Lane Scheppele—Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University
• Brian Soucek—Professor of Law and Chancellor's Fellow, University of California, Davis School of Law

Organizers:
Prof. Anil Kalhan
Drexel Law Review

Co-Sponsors:
American Constitution Society
American Constitution Society, Drexel Chapter

Questions:
For any additional event related questions, please contact Mary McGovern at mkm35@drexel.edu.

Tentative Schedule:
Friday, November 3, 2023 • 8:00am to 5:00pm:
8:00am-9:00am - Registration and Breakfast
9:00am-9:15am - Welcome and Introductions
9:15am-10:45am - Understanding and Framing the Challenge
11:00am-12:30pm - Legislative Threats
1:00pm-2:00pm - Keynote: Prof. Sigal Ben-Porath
2:15pm-3:30pm - Conceptual Perspectives
3:45pm-5:00pm - Threats from Civil Society

Saturday, November 4, 2023 • 9:00am to 1:45pm:
9:00am-10:15am - Defending and Protecting Education and Knowledge: Part 1
10:25-11:35am - Keynote Discussion: Hon. Anna V. Eskamani and Hon. Helen Gym
12:00pm-1:30pm - Defending and Protecting Education and Knowledge: Part 2
1:30pm-1:45pm - Closing Remarks

LINK TO REGISTER: https://secure.touchnet.com/C20688_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=4180&SINGLESTORE=true