Margaret Noodin, professor of English and American Indian Studies at UWM, will be one of the presenters in a series of four online discussions that explore the cultural and philosophical roots of American democracy.
For the Roots of Democracy series, scholars and experts from a range of disciplines — classics, ethics, political science, First Nations studies and law — offer conversational presentations that explore questions about inherent rights, responsibilities, participation, and the tensions between social good and individual freedom.
The series will explore how different approaches to participatory democracy have informed our present Constitution, and consider what we can still learn from these democracies. This series will take a particularly close look at several traditions of Indigenous governance and the fundamental conflicts that challenge the relationships between First Nations and the U.S. government.
The first session, “Turtle Island Confederacies: Relationships and Balance,” will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 11. This session will explore the ways in which democracy flourished on the North American continent hundreds of years before the founding fathers were born.
Three other discussions will take place on March 4, March 25 and April 15.
The discussion series is presented by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters. For more information, or to register, go to the Wisconsin Academy website.
