Lecture by author and journalist to celebrate Constitution Day

By Stacey Axler and Catherine Collins

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist David Shipler will give a lecture on his latest book, “The Rights of the People: How Our Search for Safety Invades our Liberties,” on Sep. 20 at 7 p.m. in Whitaker Campus Commons.

The lecture, hosted by the political science department, is meant to celebrate Constitution Day, which was created in 2004 to commemorate the ratification of the U.S. Constitution on Sep. 17, 1787.

Shipler will address topics such as the tensions between personal liberties and national security that have mounted since the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks.

 “[David Shipler] is passionate about individual liberty and our right to privacy, and how these rights have changed, expanded and contracted over time,” Dr. Hoda Zaki, professor of political science, said in an e-mail. “He approaches his subject matter by telling stories: stories of men and women who have suffered as a result of the violations to civil rights.”

There will be a historical aspect to Shipler’s lecture: he will discuss various Supreme Court decisions and their impact on security and privacy as well as the relevance of these decisions to contemporary society.

“This is an important topic that will be discussed by an important intellectual in our society: everyone is welcome!” Zaki said.

Shipler is an established author, professor, and journalist, having worked at The New York Times for over two decades.

During his career at The Times, he served as a reporter inNew York, a correspondent in Saigon andMoscow, bureau chief inJerusalem, and chief diplomatic correspondent inWashington,D.C.

Shipler is the author of four books, including “Russia: Broken Idols, Solemn Dreams,” “The Working Poor,” and “Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land,” which won a Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.

He has taught at a number of institutions, including Princeton University, Dartmouth College and American University in Washington, D.C.

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