April 2025 Newsletter

April 2025

Greetings,

Welcome Spring! March was a busy month as we kicked off a new series titled “Advancing Science and Technology for Democracy” and welcomed Dr. Josh Grossman. We were also joined by Argentine-American journalist, Jasmine Garsd for the Gwen Ifill Lecture Series. Dr. Thomas Carothers delivered a lecture, "Is There a Global Crisis of Democracy?" for the second installment of The Rising Tide: Distinguished Lecture in International Affairs series. We also hosted the second Annual Civics Bee. April will bring even more exciting programs to campus.

For more information on our past events or for information regarding our 2025 programs or the Center for the Study of Democracy, please visit our website or send us an email.

I also encourage you to follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Warm Regards!

Antonio Ugues Jr., PhD

Director, Center for the Study of Democracy

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 7

Amɘricas Dialogue and Africa Series Collaboration

"Birthright Citizenship, Dictatorships, and the 1937 Anti-Black Genocide in the Dominican Republic”

Blackistone Room

7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

April 9

Civil Rights Panel II: What Does

Justice for All Look Like?

Cole Cinema

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

April 9

Historically Speaking:

The Surprising Legacy of Maryland’s

Spiro Agnew

The Inn at Leonardtown

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

April 10

MLCED Program:

Misinformation Escape Room

Blackistone Room

4:30 pm - 6:00 pm

April 14

Asian Studies Series:

SARS Stories: Affect and Archive of the 2003 Pandemic with Belinda Kong

Blackistone Room

4:45 pm - 6:30 pm

AMERICAS DIALOGUE AND AFRICA SERIES COLLABORATION:

Birthright Citizenship, Dictatorships, and the 1937 Anti-Black Genocide in the Dominican Republic

Sophie Maríñez, is a professor of modern languages, cultures, and literature at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, where she recently won a Distinguished Teaching Award and currently serves as Program Advisor. Maríñez grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she completed a degree in Translation. She completed an MA in Liberal Studies at SUNY Empire State College and her PhD in French at the Graduate Center. Learn more here.

CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL II:

What Does Justice for All Look Like?

A panel discussion on the current state of civil rights in America, from the perspective of BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, disabled, and other historically marginalized communities.

The St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) Center for the Study of Democracy, in partnership with the SMCM Office of Community Outreach & Engagement, Historic St. Mary's City, Historic Sotterley, and Southern Maryland PFLAG, NAACP #7025, and the United Committee for Afro-American Contributions, will host a forum to follow up on last fall’s panel discussion, "The Civil Rights Act in Southern Maryland: Yesterday, Today, and for Tomorrow."

Find out more here.

Historically Speaking:

The Surprising Legacy of Maryland’s Spiro Agnew

The Late Spiro T. Agnew, Governor of Maryland from 1967 to 1969 and US Vice President from 1969 to 1973 under Richard

Nixon, was a colorful figure to put it mildly.

Professor of History, Charles Holden, has written extensively on Agnew and his impact on the way he left his mark on American politics. Learn more here.

MLCED Program:

Misinformation Escape Room

Ready to test your puzzle-solving skills? Join us for an interactive experience with a Misinformation Escape Room!

You’ll work in teams of 4-6 people, to dive into a world of clues, riddles and tricky media puzzles designed to uncover hidden truths. You can either build your team or be placed in a team the day of. Find out more.

SARS Stories: Affect and Archive of the 2003 Pandemic with Belinda Kong

Belinda Kong delves into the cultural archive of the 2003 SARS pandemic, examining Chinese-language creative works and social practices at the epicenters of the outbreak in China and Hong Kong. As the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted issues of anti-Asian racism and sinophobia, Kong traces how Chinese people navigated the SARS pandemic and created meaning amid crisis through cultures of epidemic expression. From sentimental romances and Cantopop songs to raunchy sex comedies and crowdsourced ghost tales, unexpected and minor genres and creators of Chinese popular culture highlight the resilience and humanity of those living through the pandemic. Learn more here.