Benjamin R. Barber to speak at City Club of Portland Oct. 21

Portland, OR (PRWEB) October 8, 2005

At its weekly Friday Forum luncheon on Oct. 21, City Club of Portland welcomes internationally renowned political theorist Benjamin R. Barber to share his abiding concern for democracy and citizenship within issues of politics, culture and education in America and abroad. Barber’s appearance is co-sponsored by the Oregon Campus Compact and Learn and Serve America.

Barber is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland and author of 17 books including Jihad vs. McWorld, Fear’s Empire and Strong Democracy. He is the founder and director of the CivWorld Citizen’s Campaign for Democracy and consults regularly with world leaders, including President Bill Clinton and German President Roman Herzog. Barber’s honors include a knighthood from the French Government, the Berlin Prize of the American Academy of Berlin and the John Dewey Award. He writes frequently for Le Nouvel Observateur, Die Zeit, La Republica, El Pais, Harper’s Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and The Nation. For television, Barber co-wrote with Patrick Watson the prize-winning CBS/PBS 10-part series “The Struggle for Democracy.”

City Club’s Friday Forum, which is open to the public, will be held in the Governor Hotel (614 SW 11th Ave.). Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Program begins at 12:15 p.m. and concludes at 1:15 p.m. Luncheon reservations must be made online at http://www.pdxcityclub.org or by calling 503-228-7231, ext. 102, by 2 p.m. Wed., Oct. 19 (members only may call 503-241-9242). Luncheon tickets are $ 20 ($ 16 for members of City Club). Coffee/tea table tickets are $ 5 at the door. General seating, available at the door, is $ 5 (free for members of City Club).

A NOTE TO MEDIA

Media are encouraged to attend and are invited to sit in general seating. Please sign in at the registration table on the day of the forum. For broadcast media, an audio press patch will be available, and a riser for videotaping can be provided with advance notice. Contact Tim Krause at tim@pdxcityclub.org or 503-228-7231, ext. 102.

ABOUT BENJAMIN R. BARBER

NOTE: Complete biographical information and high-resolution images are available online at http://www.benjaminbarber.org. Benjamin R. Barber is the Gershon and Carol Kekst Professor of Civil Society and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland and a principal of the Democracy Collaborative, with offices in New York, and Maryland. An internationally renowned political theorist, Dr. Barber brings an abiding concern for democracy and citizenship to issues of politics, culture and education in America and abroad. He consults regularly with political and civic leaders in the United States and Europe, including Governor Howard Dean, Governor Jim McGreevey of New Jersey, former President Bill Clinton, former Senator Bill Bradley, and former President Roman Herzog of Germany. He has also consulted with the Corporation for National Service, the United States Information Agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities; and in Europe, UNESCO, the European Parliament, the Swedish Parliamentary Commission on Democracy and “Mission 2000” (the French Millennial Commission).

Benjamin Barber’s 17 books include the classic STRONG DEMOCRACY (1984) reissued in 2004 in a twentieth anniversary edition; the recent international best-seller JIHAD VS. MCWORLD (1995 with a Post 9/11 Edition in 2001, translated into twenty languages) and FEAR’S EMPIRE: WAR, TERRORISM AND DEMOCRACY (2003), also published in eight foreign editions. His collected American essays, A PASSION FOR DEMOCRACY, were published by Princeton University Press in 1999, and his book THE TRUTH OF POWER: INTELLECTUAL AFFAIRS IN THE CLINTON WHITE HOUSE was published in 2001 by W.W. Norton & Company. He is currently working on THE DECLINE OF CAPITALISM AND THE INFANTALIST ETHOS, to be published next year.

Barber’s honors include a knighthood (Palmes Academiques/Chevalier) from the French Government (2001), the Berlin Prize of the American Academy of Berlin (2001) and the John Dewey Award (2003). He has also been awarded Guggenheim, Fulbright, and Social Science Research Fellowships, honorary doctorates from Grinnell College, Monmouth University and Connecticut College, and has held the chair of American Civilization at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Paris in 1991-92. He writes frequently for HARPER’S MAGAZINE, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST, THE ATLANTIC, THE NATION, LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR, DIE ZEIT, LA REPUBLICA, EL PAIS and many other scholarly and popular publications in America and Europe. He was a founding editor and for ten years editor-in-chief of the distinguished international quarterly POLITICAL THEORY. He holds a certificate from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an M.A. and Doctorate from Harvard University.

For television, Barber co-wrote with Patrick Watson the prize-winning CBS/PBS ten-part series THE STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY (1988, re-released in 2000) and the companion book; he also contributed to the Channel Four (U.K.) series GREEK FIRE, as well as to the American series THE AMERICAN PROMISE and other educational documentaries. His work for the theater includes the libretto for George Quincy’s opera HOME AND THE RIVER (produced in New York), the performance piece KASPAR (produced at Café La Mama in New York) created with his wife, the choreographer and performer Leah Kreutzer, and other dramatic musical works off-Broadway and in regional theaters. His novel MARRIAGE VOICES was published by Simon & Schuster in 1981.

ABOUT CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND

City Club of Portland is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic affairs organization that promotes civic engagement and active citizenship to build a stronger community. Through unbiased research and compelling programs, City Club connects citizens with ideas and issues that affect our community. City Club is open to everyone who wants to interact with other citizens and shape the future of our city and state. For more information about City Club of Portland, visit http://www.pdxcityclub.org or call 503-228-7231.

ABOUT OREGON CAMPUS COMPACT

Oregon Campus Compact is a state affiliate chapter of Campus Compact, a national coalition of over 950 college and university presidents committed to the civic purposes of higher education.

Campus Compact promotes community service that develops students’ citizenship skills and values, encourages partnerships between campuses and communities, and assists faculty who seek to integrate public and community engagement into their teaching and research.

Its presidents believe that by creating a supportive campus environment for engagement in community service, colleges and universities can best prepare their students to be active, committed and informed citizens and leaders of their communities. Members of the Oregon Campus Compact share a vision that Oregon’s institutions of higher education (their faculty, staff and students) can develop and promote a commitment to lifelong service and active citizenship, while enhancing the quality of education and the quality of life in Oregon’s communities and among its citizens.

For more information about Oregon Campus Compact, visit http://www.oregoncampuscompact.org.

ABOUT LEARN AND SERVE AMERICA

Learn and Serve America supports and encourages service-learning throughout the U.S., and enables over one million students to make meaningful contributions to their community while building their academic and civic skills. By engaging the nation’s young people in service-learning, Learn and Serve America instills an ethic of lifelong community service. Learn and Serve America provides direct and indirect support to K-12 schools, community groups and higher education institutions to facilitate service-learning projects by providing grant support for school-community partnerships and higher education institutions; providing training and technical assistance resources to teachers, administrators, parents, schools and community groups; collecting and disseminating research, effective practices, curricula and program models; and recognizing outstanding youth service through the Presidential Freedom Scholarship, President’s Volunteer Service Awards and other programs.

For more information about Learn and Serve Amierca, visit http://www.learnandserve.org.

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