Past Events Archive

“The Pathways to Civic Engagement and Community Change” is a framework that describes a range of possibilities by which you can exercise your own power to create a better world, including direct service, community organizing, policy-making, community-engaged research, social entrepreneurialism, and philanthropy. These pathways intersect and overlap, demonstrating the interdependent nature of working toward the common good. At the end of this workshop you’ll be better able to assess what kinds of opportunities are the best match with your personality, talents, and passions. Whether you are considering what extracurriculars to get involved with, or making choices about graduate school and careers, the Pathways workshop can help guide you the next steps in your social justice journey.

For students who are:

Beginning to explore ways to engage with communities

Making decisions about what classes to take

Trying to choose extracurricular activities

Interested in pursuing a career in community engagement or social impact

https://sessions.studentlife.umich.edu/track/event/session/102937

With illiberal and autocratic leaders around the world offering more generous welfare policies to consolidate their power, do we need to rethink the relationships between democracy, authoritarianism, and welfare? Experts on Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, and Asia tackle this topic from different world-regions and multiple analytical perspectives.

Cosponsored by the Open Society Foundations and the Central European University (CEU) Democracy Institute.

Atten in person or via Zoom. Zoom registration at https://myumi.ch/8qVGq.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at [email protected]. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.

Experts on Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, and Asia tackle this topic from different world-regions and multiple analytical perspectives.

The talk will also explore ways we can practice aligning our actions with our values to implement policy more effectively.

An informal art activity will take place in the Great Hall during the reception for those who would like to participate.

The event is co-sponsored by the Initiative for Democracy and Civic Empowerment and the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). 

Lunch from Jerusalem Garden provided.

About the speaker

Holly Bass is an award-winning, socially-engaged artist working across multiple disciplines including dance, theater, visual art and writing. She has collaborated with governmental agencies, cultural institutions, nonprofit organizations and academic communities to create innovative artistic experiences that foster connection among groups of strangers. Her artwork can be found in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. She was a founding member of DC WritersCorps which sent her into schools, community centers and women's shelters to teach poetry workshops. She continues to travel the country and the world, using the arts to build community and transform the social culture of classrooms, workplaces and public spaces.

Hosted in the Ginsberg Center Commons on March 12th from 12pm-1pm. We will be talking with Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia M. Dyer. Be on the lookout for additional events throughout the year featuring other local elected officials!

Civic Learning Week seeks to unite our communities and highlight the importance of civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that provide the foundation for informed and engaged communities.

Each session offers a space to pause, sort out what’s happening, and engage in thoughtful, civil discussion with peers. Bring your questions, your curiosity, and your perspective—no preparation required.

Each session offers a space to pause, sort out what’s happening, and engage in thoughtful, civil discussion with peers. Bring your questions, your curiosity, and your perspective—no preparation required.

Josh Pasek is Professor of Communication & Media and Political Science, Faculty Associate at the Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research, and Associate Director of the Michigan Institute for Data Science at the University of Michigan

Free dinner provided! This event's topic will be the U.S. Immigration System. Read about our featured panelists below!

Jessica Lefort, J.D.: Director of the Immigrant Justice Lab at the University of Michigan, and a clinical Assistant Professor at the Michigan Law School.

Becky Monroe, J.D.: Senior Director on the Education and Civil Rights Team at the National Center for Youth Law.

Amr Brown: Junior studying Public Policy, and Chairman of the Conflict-Affected and Refugee Education Scholarship taskforce in the Central Student Government.

Too often Detroit has been viewed as a site of social and economic problems, and not as a source of solutions or strategies for the future. With partners at Bridge Detroit, the University of Michigan Detroit Center is hosting a series of public panel discussions exploring the struggles and achievements of local grassroots movements who have confronted the challenges of the 21st century–from food deserts and environmental racism to gentrification and violence–with the grit and spirit of innovation that defines the spirit of the Motor City. Come join the conversation, and learn the lessons that Detroit has to teach the nation and the world

Each session offers a space to pause, sort out what’s happening, and engage in thoughtful, civil discussion with peers. Bring your questions, your curiosity, and your perspective—no preparation required.

Josh Pasek is Professor of Communication & Media and Political Science, Faculty Associate at the Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research, and Associate Director of the Michigan Institute for Data Science at the University of Michigan