Big Challenge

Each academic year the DCII selects an annual theme connected to a major challenge facing humanity, and organizes events and other programming throughout the year that highlight the interdisciplinary nature of potential solutions to this challenge. 

The Big Challenge theme for 2024-25 is Strengthening Democracy.

Fall 2024 Events: 

September 30^th: Center for Presidential History Third Rail Series—Who Gets Your Vote? U.S. Domestic Policy

The Third Rail Series offers the perspective of two experts each tasked with making the case for one presidential candidate. This event will focus on each candidate's domestic agenda, featuring Peniel Joseph of the University of Texas-Austin making the case for an incoming Democratic administration, and Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation outlining Republican programs and policies. You can find more information and registration for this event at the Center for Presidential History's website. 

October 10^th: Allman Family Lecture—Dr. Sheila Jasanoff  

Dr. Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School, will give a lecture on "Science and Democracy: What Should People Know?" A pioneer in her field, she has authored more than 130 articles and chapters and is author or editor of more than 15 books, including The Fifth Branch, Science at the Bar, Designs on Nature, The Ethics of Invention, and Can Science Make Sense of Life? Dr. Jasanoff's work explores the role of science and technology in the law, politics, and policy of modern democracies, and she is the founding director of the Science and Technology Studies Program at Harvard. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is the recipient of the 2022 Holberg Prize—dubbed the Nobel Prize for social science and humanities—for her prolific work in science and technology studies. You can find more information and registration for this event here. 

October 22^nd: Dallas City Charter Panel Discussion

In collaboration with the City of Dallas, this event brings together a panel of experts to discuss the Dallas City Charter amendments that will be on the November ballot, as well as the history of efforts to change the Charter and the impact of these efforts on Dallas communities. The panel features journalist Jim Schutze, Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem and City Council Member Adam Bazaldua, City Council Member Carolyn King Arnold, and SMU Law Professor Dr. Thomas Leatherbury.

October 29^th: Center for Presidential History Third Rail Series—Who Gets Your Vote? U.S. Foreign Policy

The Third Rail Series offers the perspective of two experts each tasked with making the case for one presidential candidate. This event will focus on each candidate's international agenda. Charles Edel of the Center for Strategic and International Studies will discuss American foreign policy under a Democratic administration, while William Ruger of the American Institute for Economic Research will outline the foreign policies of a new Republican administration. You can find more information and registration for this event at the Center for Presidential History's website. 

October 30^th: Godbey Lecture Series—Dr. Jeffrey Engel  

In a special Fall edition of the Godbey Lecture Series, Dr. Jeffrey Engel, Professor of History and David Gergen Director of the Center for Presidential History at SMU, will lecture on "Fifty Years Since Watergate: Presidential Power in the Age of Rampant Immunity and Feckless Impeachments." It has been fifty years since Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. Congressional power rode high in Watergate's wake, followed by a rejuvenated judiciary and invigorated national press corps. Reports of the imperial presidency's death proved premature. The past three presidential impeachments, the first since the 1860s, resulted in zero convictions. Zero was also the conviction left among the American people that anything more than partisan politics explains those verdicts, which recent Supreme Court rulings on presidential immunity appear to vindicate. The evening will trace that history since 1974, and outline the likely future of our nation's highest office. You can find more information and registration for this event here. 

November 15^th: "Bobi Wine: The People's President" Screening and Discussion

Join the DCII and the John G. Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs for a special screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary "Bobi Wine: The People's President." The film follows renowned Ugandan singer and opposition leader Bobi Wine as he runs for president against Uganda's longtime leader Yoweri Museveni and takes on the Museveni regime in a fight for democracy. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on the state of democracy in Africa. You can find more information and registration for this event here. 

December 4^th: Dr. Daniel Ziblatt 

Dr. Daniel Ziblatt, director of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies and Eaton Professor of Government at Harvard University, will give a lecture that looks to countries around the world for insights into how we can strengthen democracy at home. Dr. Ziblatt's research focuses on Europe and the comparative study of democracy. He is the author of four books, including the New York Times bestsellers How Democracies Die—described by The Economist magazine as "the most important book of the Trump era"—and Tyranny of the Minority, both co-authored with Steven Levitsky. In 2023 Dr. Ziblatt was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. You can find more information and registration for this event here.