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VI.
The Humanities and Contemporary Issues
A.
Ethics, Law and Democracy
The
Constitution: Past and Present
By George Watson
This presentation traces the development of the
U.S. Constitution in three periods:
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From 1776 to 1791 -- This is an overview of the time
between the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution.
The program explains the original focus and purposes of the Constitution
and the Bill of Rights.
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From 1971 to 1991 -- This traces the evolution of
the Constitution over a 20-year period. How does the document reflect the
tremendous changes that have taken place?
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From 1991 into the Future -- This questions Constitutional
viability for future years, speculating on possible outcomes of recommended
reforms and future amendments.
Dangerous
Words: Freedom of Speech
By Bette Novit Evans
Most of us grew up hearing that "sticks and stones
can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." When we think of the
First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech and press, we often make
a distinction between "only words" and "real action." This talk undermines
that distinction by discussing some of the most dramatic First Amendment
cases that have reached the Supreme Court.
Four Reasons
Our Taxes Go Up
By State Sen. Lowen Kruse
Focusing on Nebraska, Lowen Kruse investigates
four reasons that taxes go up. He looks at drug use, education, Medicaid
and prisons.
Human
Rights and Indian Rights: Las Casas to Standing Bear
By Robert Haller
Bartolome de las
Casas appears over the east door of the Nebraska State Capitol in a panel
showing him pleading before the King and Queen of Castile for recognition of the
dignity of the Native American peoples. Judge Dundy, like Las Casas, based the
claim for the humanity of Indians on the integrity of the alien culture and on
the emotional sympathy evoked by the victimized peoples in the famous trial of
Crook vs. Standing Bear (1879). This illustrated talk finds parallels in
the career of Las Casas with the events leading up to the trial of Standing
Bear. It discusses the interrelation of our ideas of human rights, religious
belief, legal entitlement, international law, and cultural integrity. Native American
Values For the 21st Century
By Wynema Morris
This presentation provides a cultural analysis
of the world view of Native American people, the historical roots and traditional
Indian ways that are present in Omaha people today and a discussion, based
on ethics and philosophy, of non-Indians' understanding of these differences.
Concepts that may be discussed in this presentation in terms of differing
cultural understanding include time, nature, sharing and acquisition, work,
cooperation and competition, teaching and learning, acceptance of change,
religion, aging, power and recognition and law.
Religious
Freedom: What is It?
By Bette Novit Evans
The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise
of religion, but it remains a source of controversy. The problem is that
the clause means both a little less and a great deal more than it says.
No one—our politicians, our best constitutional scholars or our courts—can
agree on what it means for government to inhibit those practices or when
governmental interference might be justified. This talk focuses on several
contemporary controversies related to freedom of religion, illustrating
the complex issues with stories about recent cases.
Resurrection
of the Pre-Emptive Strike Doctrine in International Law
By Michael J. Kelly
This program looks at the United States current
broad interpretation of the Pre-Emptive Strike Doctrine. The program
also investigates how the doctrine has been interpreted and challenged
in the past and how the U.N. responded.
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