Class of 1968 Seminar

Issues Our Next President Will Face

Noon Friday to Noon Saturday, September 30 - October 1, 2016

We are very fortunate to have Professor Julian Zelizer as our leader for this seminar. Julian is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs. He is a prolific writer, historian, and commentator on current events. If you look at his Princeton University web page: https://www.princeton.edu/~jzelizer/index.html, you cannot help but be impressed.

Julian has been able to put together an outstanding group of professors to lead us through our topic:

• Daniel Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt and Israel and lecturer at Princeton University speaking on the Middle East.
• Peter Conti-Brown, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania talking about the Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy.
• Douglas Massey, Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs and Director of the Office of Population Research, talking about immigration.
• Meg Jacobs, Research Scholar in the Woodrow Wilson School, talking about energy policy. 
• Nolan McCarty, Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs and Chair of the Department of Politics, speaking on Polarization and Partisanship.
• Sheldon Garon, Professor of History and East Asian Studies in the History Department, talking about savings and debt.

Julian will be giving our Friday evening after-dinner talk. His topic is The 2016 Election in Historical Context. Given that his talk will be after cocktails and dinner and the seemingly unique features of our current election, it should be a very interesting evening.

Our seminar speakers have already started providing us with various readings and web links related to their talks. Past seminar pre-reading materials have been terrific and the readings we have received so far for this year’s seminar look very interesting. As soon as you register, I will send you the readings we already have and will send others as I receive them. In the meantime while you are waiting for the pre-readings, I can highly recommend Julian’s latest book: The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society. It is a great history of what was happening when we were in college back in the 60’s.

Logistics

As with our past seminars, this one will take place at the Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Conference Center, just a couple of blocks from the Princeton campus. Registration and an early lunch will start at 11 o’clock to accommodate our first speaker’s travel schedule. The actual seminar will start at noon, September 30. After four sessions on Friday afternoon, we will move to The Nassau Club for cocktails, a performance by the Tigressions, one of Princeton’s a capella groups, dinner, and an after-dinner talk by Professor Zelizer, our fearless leader. We will reconvene on Saturday morning for breakfast back at the Erdman Center followed by our two remaining speakers. Our seminar will wrap up around noon. Dress is business casual.

Cost and Accommodations

Cost for the program, including meals, libations and pre-seminar readings, is $165 per person. The cost of lodging is not included. We have reserved a block of rooms at the Erdman Center where our seminar is held. Singles for Friday night are $65 and doubles range from $80 to $85. To reserve a room, call the Erdman Center at (609) 497-7990 and mention Princeton University Class of 1968 and group code 93032. Depending on availability, some of these rooms may also be reserved for Thursday and Saturday nights if you want to come early or stay over. 

Besides the Erdman Center, there are a large number of hotels nearby offering reasonable rates. You can see them at: http://www.campustravel.com/university/princeton/visit2.htm

Register Now

With almost no exception, classmates, spouses and guests who’ve attended previous seminars have come away describing them as a wonderful experience. Given the topic and the fact that we are all living through this presidential election season, we are sure this will be a very informative seminar. We are especially lucky to have Julian Zelizer as our leader. Between learning and having a chance to reconnect with classmates, this seminar should be a great time. You really don’t want to miss it so please plan on joining us.