National Agenda
UD's National Agenda series to feature satirist, journalist, political advisers
9:48 a.m., Aug. 11, 2014--The University of Delaware Center for Political Communication has announced the fall National Agenda speaker series, “Battle for Congress,” which will include an award-winning political satirist, a CNN reporter and several noted political advisers.
In addition, this year’s National Agenda will be supplemented by “Fade to Black: Dark Political Humor in American Film,” a series influential political feature films.
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Speaker presentations and films, which are free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays, from Sept. 10 through Dec. 3, in UD’s Mitchell Hall.
Also of note, Delaware Debates, featuring candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, will be held in advance of the November elections. Free tickets are required for this event.
‘Battle for Congress’
National Agenda, moderated by Ralph Begleiter, Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Communication, distinguished journalist in residence and director of the Center for Political Communication, will focus on the battle for control of Congress midway through the second term of President Barack Obama.
The series will open Wednesday, Sept. 10, with Frank Lesser, an Emmy Award winning writer for Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. Lesser will speak on the topic “Making Fun of Politics.”
CNN political report Peter Hamby, who has covered some of the highest profile stories of the Obama era, will speak on Wednesday, Oct. 1, and Teddy Goff, digital director of Obama’s 2012 campaign will discuss “The Digital Campaign” on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Mike McCurry, who served in the White House as press secretary to former President Bill Clinton, is scheduled to speak on "Meaning of the Midterm Elections" on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
Closing the series, Stephanie Cutter, deputy manager for Obama's 2012 campaign, and UD alumnus Steve Schmidt, an international political strategist who managed the campaign of Republican John McCain in 2008, will offer their analysis on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
‘Fade to Black’
Lindsay Hoffman, associate professor of communication, will introduce the film series “Fade to Black: Dark Political Humor in American Film,” which will run on alternate Wednesdays in Mitchell Hall.
The series will feature: O Brother, Where Art Thou? on Sept. 17, Dr. Strangelove on Oct. 8, Wag the Dog on Oct. 22, Do the Right Thing on Nov. 5 and Thank You for Smoking on Dec. 3.
Delaware Debates
Delaware Debates, hosted by Delaware Public Media and UD, will feature candidates from the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate from the state. It will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 15, also in Mitchell Hall.
Free tickets are required for this event. For details, see the Delaware Debates website.