Cornel West, the Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion at Princeton University, discuss themes and ideas from his latest book, Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism. The usual format for the Aurora Forum is on-stage conversation that opens to audience participation. Tonight we break precedent by inviting Dr. West to present a lecture followed by a question-and-answer period. As always, our intention is to inspire conversation, and we hope you will share insights generated by this discussion with members of your family, neighbors, and colleagues. Related Themes: democracy, hope, imperialism, justice

Today nearly 70 percent of all prisoners will be rearrested within three years of their release. Might awareness of this failure invigorate efforts to reform the experience of incarceration in a country where more than two million people (out of a world total of nine million) inhabit prisons, jails, youth facilities, and immigrant detention centers? This conversation raises this question, and suggests practical and proven approaches to change. Related Themes: justice, prison

As of October 2004, 117 wrongfully convicted persons from twenty-five states have been released from America's death rows, and the number continues to grow. How do such serious mistakes occur in what some call the best court system in the world? And how can fifty states, each bound by the same Constitution and Supreme Court guidelines, implement the death penalty so differently? Should justice in a democratic society be an arbitrary matter? You are invited to join this conversation about one of the most important civil rights issues of our day. Related Themes: civil rights, death penalty, hope, justice

The Aurora Forum, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, and the Stanford Institute for International Studies are proud to sponsor a one-day symposium on the history and legacy of international campaigns to end Apartheid in South Africa. Related Themes: civil rights, freedom, justice

In January 2007, Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute published Advocate of the Social Gospel, volume VI of The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. This unique thematic volume of the King Papers Project features King’s never-before published sermon file. To celebrate this publication and probe the meaning of Dr. King’s preaching, we present an interfaith roundtable that focuses on the relation of spiritual practice and social change. Related Themes: dialogue, faith, justice, Martin Luther King, spirituality

On 14 April 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr., made his second visit to Stanford's Memorial Auditorium. On this occasion he delivered “The Other America,” an address that calls everyone together to create a more just world. At this Aurora Forum Special Event for Community Day at Stanford, we will screen Allen Willis’ film of Dr. King’s Stanford speech and enter into a public conversation that places “The Other America” in historical context and examines its relevance forty years later. Related Themes: film, history, justice, Martin Luther King

In this first conversation, journalist Marjorie MIller of the Los Angeles Times will interview Washington Post reporter Anthony Shadid, 2004 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting and author of Night Draws Near: Iraq’s People in the Shadow of America’s War, on the effects of the war on Iraqi institutions and civilians.

 

 

Related Themes: Iraq, justice, war

The Tibetan plateau, a land mass about the size of Western Europe, has great biodiversity despite its high altitudes. Known as “Asia’s Watertower,” Tibet’s glaciers feed rivers in China, India, and Southeast Asia. The region’s importance cannot be overstated, nor can the short- and long-term effects of environmental problems such as the declining quality of grasslands, melting glaciers, and rising population. Our conversation begins with a look at the physical geography of Tibet and will assess the impact of development projects and efforts to protect and restore an ecological system that is crucial for much of the planet.

Presented with the School of Earth Sciences
 

Related Themes: environment, justice, Tibet

To commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968), the Aurora Forum joins with Stanford’s King Institute to host a day-long conference on the struggle for economic justice, arguably Dr. King’s primary concern throughout the whole of his life.

Related Themes: globalization, justice, Martin Luther King, poverty

Novelist and travel writer Pico Iyer joins Robert Thurman, Columbia University professor and founder of Tibet House in New York City, for a conversation on the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, education, life on the road, and things that contribute to happiness and human well-being. Related Themes: Dalai Lama, happiness, hope, justice, Tibet