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Center for Policy Studies
Public Affairs Discussion Group

Let's Talk About Lincoln


Joe White, Ph.D. - Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and the Director of the Center for Policy Studies at Case Western Reserve University
Friday February 12, 2016
12:30-1:30 p.m.

***Alternate Location: Room LL06 at Kelvin Smith Library***
Kelvin Smith Library
Case Western Reserve University


Dear Colleagues:

Once upon a time, February 12 in half the states was a legal holiday, Lincoln's Birthday. Now, it has all-but-disappeared. Informally, Lincoln may be viewed as included in Presidents Day, but that is still officially a holiday to honor George Washington. Lincoln is certainly not forgotten. His head is on the penny, the Civil War remains an avocation for many Americans (don't try to count the books on the topic), and Republicans are still sometimes called the Party of Lincoln (though mostly in claims they have betrayed their heritage). But his role in American history may deserve some reflection on the occasion of his birthday.

For Lincoln's great accomplishment was to preserve and redefine the Union. We do not talk much about the Union these days. We talk a lot about rights and limited government, and the writings of Madison, Hamilton, and Jefferson. But Professor White argues that Lincoln – and Washington – arguably are the core founders of the United States of America. The Union that emerged from the Civil War was fundamentally different from the Union of the 1860 election. From this perspective, to talk about Lincoln means to talk about what the United States was, is, and might become.

We hope to have a wide-ranging discussion. Professor White is not a Lincoln expert, but derives his view of Lincoln from his view of American politics in general. Different perspectives and commentary will be highly welcome!

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies


About Our Guest

As Director of the Center for Policy Studies, Joe White organizes and usually moderates the Friday Lunch discussions, as well as sponsoring 3-6 other public programs each year. His appointment as Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy is in the Department of Political Science, and he also has a secondary appointment as Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. His research focuses on federal budget politics and policy; health care, especially cost control and reform; the politics of social insurance programs such as Medicare and Social Security; and differences between rich democracies' health care systems. He is author or co-author of three books and about six dozen articles, with his most recent work being on relations between the president and Congress in federal budgeting and on budgeting for healthcare programs around the world.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The lower level LL06 classroom is located in the basement of Kelvin Smith Library directly across the lobby from the main elevators.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates - just to the right if you were driving out - there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you'll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

February 19: Criminal Justice Reform in Cuyahoga County. With Lewis R. Katz, John C. Hutchins, J.D., Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University.

February 26: Update on the Presidential Campaign. With Justin Buchler, Associate Professor of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University. ***Alternate Location: Kelvin Smith Library, Room LL06***

March 4: Why Is There a Heroin Epidemic? With Lee Hoffer, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University.

March 11: Spring Break

March 18: E-Cigarettes: Problem or Solution? With Scott H. Frank MD MS, Associate Professor and Director, Master of Public Health Program, and Director of Health for the City of Shaker Heights.

March 25: Hosting the Super B**l of Politics. With Brittany Williams, Senior Project Manager, Cleveland 2016 Host Committee.

April 1: The Obama Administration and the Future of U.S. Manufacturing. With Susan Helper, Frank Tracy Carlton Professor of Economics and, former Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Commerce.

April 8: Citizenship in a Divided America. With Mary Romero, Professor of Justice Studies and Social Inquiry, Arizona State University. Cosponsored by Academic Careers in Engineering and Science (ACES) program. Room to be determined.

April 15: Money, Happiness, and Redistribution. With David Clingingsmith, Associate Professor of Economics. ***Alternate Location: Baker-Nord Center, Room 206, Clark Hall***

April 22: Germany, Asylum and the Future of Europe. With Kenneth F. Ledford, Associate Professor of History and Law and Chair, Department of History at Case Western Reserve University.
February 9, 2016

If you would like to reply, submit items for inclusion, or not receive this weekly e-mail please send a notice to: padg@case.edu

Upcoming Events

Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The Past and Future of Workplace Automation

The Howard T. McMyler Memorial Lecture-a discussion with David H. Autor, PhD, Professor of Economics and Associate Department Head of the Department of Economics at MIT, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, 4:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Tinkham Veale University Center, Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Ballroom, 11038 Bellflower Road, Cleveland, OH 44106. Sponsored by the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

What implications does the growing power of artificial intelligence and robotics have for the American workforce of the future? Professor Autor will explore what we can learn about this important question by examining how machines have displaced human labor in past and present, particularly through the contemporary role played by computer technology in creating today's polarized labor market, marked by simultaneous growth in the both low-wage/low-skill jobs and high-wage/high-skill jobs. Professor Autor explores what the concept of polarization can and cannot explain about the contemporary labor market and what our current knowledge of the relationship between jobs and technology leads us to expect for the future.

Professor Autor's research focuses on human capital, skills training, earnings inequality, contingent and flexible work arrangements, labor markets, impacts of technological change, and consequences of employment protection.


Hungarian Foreign Policy – Renewed and Adjusted to Today’s Challenges

The Joseph and Violet Magyar Lecture in Hungarian Studies, a discussion with H.E. Dr. Réka Szemerkényi, the Ambassador of Hungary to the United States, Tuesday March 1, 2016, 5:00-6:00 p.m., Clark Hall-Room 309, 11130 Bellflower Road, Cleveland, OH 44106. Sponsored by the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University. Free and open to the public. Registration recommended.

H.E. Dr. Réka Szemerkényi will discuss current developments in the foreign policy of her country in light of recent events that have unsettled Europe and the international community. In the last few years we have witnessed major changes and developments in international politics which have challenged the architecture of international system we have known since the 1990 system changes in Europe. On the one hand, Russia’s annexation of the Crimea has violated, and the crisis in Eastern Ukraine has tested, the frames of international law. On the other hand, the pillars and the very foundations of statehood have been questioned in the Middle East and North Africa. In the midst of these parallel challenges, the European Union has experienced two crises with a magnitude never known before.


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About the Friday Lunch Newsletter

If you would like to reply, submit items for inclusion, or not receive this weekly e-mail please send a notice to: padg@case.edu.

Visit the Public Affairs Discussion Group Web Site.

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Phone: 216.368.6730 | Part of the: College of Arts and Sciences
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