Hands on Democracy

Seminars, a voter registration program, international service learning and local community service partnerships are being organized to foster campus-wide awareness of current local, national and international political issues and to promote student involvement as voters and engaged citizens. For more information contact Star Rush: srush@bcc.ctc.edu. Hands on Democracy Logo

Canadian Consulate General Internships

The Canadian Consulate General Seattle invites university students who wish to experience working for a foreign government in the United States to apply for the 2008 Inten Programme. These positions are non-paid. However, most interns earn course-credit through an independent study.

Internships are for a minimum of 8-10 weeks and 9 hours per week. Internas are normally placed in the Political, Economic Relations & Public Affairs Section and work on various projects supporting 3 Officers (media, cultural, political, natural, resources, academic, public affairs, economic) and PERPA Assistant. Students must be computer/database proficient.

Interested Students should apply no less than 90 days prior to their anticipated start-date (beginning of semester, quarter, term) as those selected must undergo a Government of Canada background/security check. Interns are provided an email account with Foreign Affairs Canada.

Interested Students should contact:

Kevin Cook
Political, Economic & Academic Officer
Canadian Consulate General
1501 Fourth Avenue, Suite 600
Seattle, WA 98101
206-770-4065
Kevin.cook@itnernational.gc.ca

November 29, 2007
10:30 a.m. in D126P
2:30 p.m. in C130 A & B

Phi Theta Kappa & the Center for Liberal Arts invite you to attend the first presentation in a four-part Honors Satellite Seminar Series examining the global dynamics of power. Reza Aslan's talk "How to Win a Cosmic War" will be shown on Thursday, November 29. The talk will be shown at 10:30 a.m. in D126P (in the library, to the right of the media desk) and at 2:30 p.m. in C130(A & B).

A sneak peak into Aslan's talk: "A recent poll by Foreign Policy magazine indicated that nearly 90% of U.S. foreign policy analysts on both the left and the right believe the United States is losing the so-called "War on Terror." In his presentation, Reza Aslan will argue that America's poor performance in this conflict is due to the very way in which the struggle against Islamic extremists has been framed as a "cosmic war" between the forces of good and evil."

Please join to view Aslan's talk & for discussion that will follow. If you would like to bring your class please notify Katherine Oleson koleson@bcc.ctc.edu, to ensure that we have plenty of seats. If you are unable to join us for either viewing on November 29, please know that the DVD of Aslan's talk will be available through the Library Media Center.

Additional Honors Satellite Seminars in 2008:

Co-sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa & the Center for Liberal Arts “Hands on Democracy” Program. Voter registration tables will be available after the seminar discussions.

January 15, 2007
9:30 am in D126
10:30 am in N201
American Theocracy: Politics, Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century by Kevin Phillips
From ancient Rome to the British Empire, every world-dominating power has been brought down by an overlapping set of problems: a foolish combination of global overreach, militant religion, diminishing resources, and ballooning debt. It is exactly this nexus of ills that has come to define America's political and economic identity at the beginning of the 21st century.

For more than three decades, Kevin Phillips has been consistently and "transcendentally right" (as one reviewer has put it) about the dynamics of political change in America and an avid analyst of the role of wealth in democracy. Phillips' best-selling books have influenced presidential campaigns and changed the way America sees itself. In his two most recent New York Times bestsellers, American Dynasty and Wealth and Democracy, Phillips established himself as a powerful critic of the political and economic forces that are ruling and imperiling the United States. Called a "modern Thomas Paine," Kevin Phillips is a regular commentator for National Public Radio and a former commentator for CBS News.

January 29, 2008
9:30 am in D126
11:30 am in N201
Dealing with the Dragon: America's Economic Relationship with China by Zanny Minton Beddoes
America's relationship with China will shape the global economy of the 21st century. Whether the world's largest economy and its fastest-growing one co-operate or clash will have far-reaching implications on the global trade regime, on the pace of economic growth, on the world's energy profile, and the efforts to stem global warming. Unfortunately, frustration with China is rising fast in Congress and recent fears about the safety of Chinese products have fuelled long-standing concerns about the country's trade practices. China is widely accused of being an unfair trader, a country that gains an advantage over its competitors by manipulating its currency and ignoring intellectual property rights. Many politicians would like to get tough with this trade scofflaw. Bills that would allow tariffs to be imposed against Chinese products have passed important Congressional committees and could soon become law.

Zanny Minton Beddoes is The Economist's Washington economics editor. She is responsible for coverage of the American economy, economic policy, and issues surrounding globalization. Before moving to Washington in April 1996, Minton Beddoes was The Economist's emerging-markets correspondent based in London. She has written surveys of the World Economy, Latin American finance, global finance, and Central Asia.

February 21, 2008
9:30 am in D126
11:30 am in D126
Afghanistan after the Taliban by Tamim Ansary
How did the Taliban come to power and who were/are they? How is the American military intervening and what are the consequences? Who are the contending players on the current Afghan scene? What were the political measures that were taken to reinvent Afghanistan after the Taliban? What are the expected and unexpected consequences of the "reconstruction" efforts in Afghanistan? Is Afghanistan slipping back into chaos? Why, or why not? Tamim Ansary will explore these questions and many more in his presentation.

Afghan-American author Tamim Ansary wrote West of Kabul, East of New York and co-authored The Other Side of the Sky with Afghan land mine victim Farah Ahmadi. He directs the San Francisco Writers Workshop, writes a monthly column for Encarta.com, and teaches sporadically at the SF Osher Institute. His work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, Alternet, TomPaine.com, Zzyzyva, Edutopia, and many other publications.