Monday night’s first-ever W.O. Farber Public Affairs Lecture Series at the Muenster University Center was both entertaining and intriguing, said students and faculty who were in attendance.
The event, anticipated to be an annual occurrence, featured keynote speaker Theda Skocpol, the Victor S. Thomas professor of government and sociology at Harvard University, as she discussed the role of 20th century social policy and interest groups in American democracy. The hour-long address was entitled “Voice and Inequality: The Transformation of American Civic Democracy.”
Political Science professor Mary Pat Bierle said listening to the internationally famous professor was a rare treat for the university.
“She is a very common-sense lecturer,” Bierle said. “It was very easy to understand her points, and her arguments about the historical transformations of interest groups are worth thinking about.”
Senior Patrick Doyle, a political science major, said Skocpol’s ability to relay information to her audience is a testament of her overall talent.
“She is an excellent rhetorician and communicator,” he said. “I never felt lost, or that I couldn’t understand her arguments.”
Skocpol presented a broad range of research including the subject of individuals’ tendencies to pay allegiance to one group or another.
Doyle said the event was an overall worthwhile experience, and he hopes to attend the W.O. Farber Public Affairs Lecture Series again in the future.
“Dr. Skocpol’s address was a fascinating discussion of interest groups and American policy,” Doyle said. “I think the Farber series was a very worthy host to bring her in.”
Bill Richardson, a political science professor and director of the Farber Center, began the ceremony by discussing the initiative to bring in a prestigious speaker for the inaugural event, and then reflected upon the legacy Doc Farber has left at USD. Farber was a distinguished political scientist at USD for more than 35 years and “strongly committed to research as a means of pursuing truth,” according to the USD website.
“I think if Doc was here tonight, he would be pleased with what the Political Science League has done in organizing this lecture series,” he said.
Political Science League President Patrick Morrison took the stage after Richardson, providing a brief history of Theda’s lifetime achievements and awards such as winning the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science.
After listening to Skocpol’s speech, which had more than 150 people in attendance, Morrison said he was pleased with the high turnout rate and audience interaction.
“The audience had an opportunity to get involved, and there were some engaging questions at the end,” Morrison said.
Skocpol also had “meet-and-greet” sessions throughout the day with USD faculty, undergraduate students and graduate students, Morrison said.
“It was a great keynote address, but that wasn’t her only appeal,” Morrison said. “She also had great question-answer sessions earlier in the day, where she let people get to know her on a personal level.”
Reach reporter Andrew Finzen at Andrew.Finzen@usd.edu.
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