Center for Politics and the People to hold panel discussion about democracy

“Democracy Beyond the Ballot Box,” a panel discussion will be held March 6 at Ripon College. The events will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Kresge Little Theatre, East Hall, and is sponsored by The Center for Politics and the People.

Panelists will be Nicholas Smaligo, a doctoral candidate in philosophy at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and the author of The Occupy Movement Explained; Dr. Christoffer Lammer-Heindel, assistant professor of philosophy at Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa ; and Dr. Christine Darr, assistant professor of Christian ethics, University of Dubuque. Dr. Steven Miller, adjunct scholar in philosophy and religion at Ripon College, will moderate the discussion.

The panel will investigate practical and theoretical consequences of democracy that go beyond or challenge our culture’s ordinary, electoral understanding of that concept. For most people, democracy is simply about governance and voting, and it has no place in most other spheres of life.

Each presenter will discuss a concrete political project in which they have taken part, showing how these projects display democratic norms and advocating for democratizing American social relations.