September Downtown Speakers Program Features Jon Goldberg-Hiller on "The End of Politics"

The Colleges of Arts and Sciences of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa continues its Downtown Speakers Program with a lecture on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, by Dr. Jon Goldberg-Hiller, Professor of Political Science. This free lecture will be held from noon to 1:00 p.m. at the American Savings Bank Tower, 1001 Bishop Street, 8th floor, Room 805. It is a brown-bag event so attendees are invited to bring their lunches.

Recent political discourse has been notable not just for its nastiness but also the pervasive belief by opponents and their parties that their challengers lack the requisite ethics and honesty compatible with democratic politics. This talk and following discussion will address the importance of these perceptions for the nation and Hawaiʻi, and the means of understanding the harsh winds of contemporary political language. Participants will also explore what a commitment to democratic process and a viable public sphere demands from all citizens.

Goldberg-Hiller received his bachelor‘s degree in political science from Reed College, and his master‘s and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a scholar of law and politics and has a recent book entitled "The Limits to Union: Same-sex marriage and the politics of civil rights," (University of Michigan Press, 2004) which is about the marriage controversy. He is currently chair of the UH Mānoa Department of Political Science.

For more information about the Downtown Speakers Program, contact the Colleges of Arts and Sciences‘ Office of Community and Alumni Relations at 956-5790.