URI Distinguished Scholar lecture to discuss democracy in a global marketplace KINGSTON, R.I. — October 14, 1998 — The 1998 University of Rhode Island Foundation Distinguished Scholar lecture will explore the impact of the global markets on democracy with Dr. Benjamin R. Barber, director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy and political science professor at Rutgers University Barber will discuss “Citizens or Consumers? Is Democracy Possible in an Era of Global Markets?” on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 8 pm in Room 271 of the Chafee Social Science Center on the University’s Kingston Campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. Benjamin R. Barber has combined a career as a distinguished scholar and political theorist with a life of practical commitment to democratic civic practices and the arts. Known internationally, Barber’s work in the field of modern political theory represents some of the most provocative and thoughtful discussions on the national and global implications of political participation and democracy. Barber is an experienced educational and political consultant, public speaker, fundraiser and administrator. As a scholar with a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University, he has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Haverford College, Princeton University, the City University of New York, Essex University (U.K.) and the Ecoles des Hautes Etudes en sciences sociales in Paris. He has won Guggenheim, Fulbright, and American Council of Learned Society fellowships and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws from Grinnell College. For the last decade, Barber has been director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy at Rutgers University, which oversees eight programs that unite the theory and practice of democracy. Barber was one of the originators of the movement to introduce service learning as a part of the college curriculum. In his writings, he has provided a theoretical framework for the implications of this effort in enhancing the civic culture of the United States and implemented a program at Rutgers which was recognized as a national model. One of America’s most prominent political theorists, Barber is seen as a significant voice in the continuing debate about the nature and role of democracy in the contemporary world. Among his many books are the classic Strong Democracy and the two Princeton University Press editions of his essays The Conquest of Politics and the forthcoming A Passion for Democracy, as well as his recent critical hit JihadVersus McWorld. His new study of civil society, A Place for Us: How to Make Society Civil and Democracy Strong, appeared this year. As a political advisor and consultant, he has counseled dozens of organizations and agencies. He has also consulted with German President Roman Herzog, the Mendes-France Center in Paris, the Political Academy in Vienna, and is on the German Land of Baden-Wurttemburgís Citizenship Council. He has drafted papers and lectured for the U.S. Information Agency and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and counseled the Corporation for National and Community Service. He also serves on the editorial boards of many journals including the London Government and Opposition and was the editor-in-chief for ten years of the prominent international journal Political Theory. Barber is also an experienced television and theatre writer/producer and with Patrick Watson, he wrote and edited the prize-winning ten-part PBS/CBS series The Struggle for Democracy. He contributed to the British series Greek Fire and the Farmers’ Insurance Corporation’s prize-winning PBS series The American Promise. He also wrote and produced with pacific Street Films the educational video Schools for Sale. His plays have been produced off-Broadway as well as at the Berkshire Theater Festival, Colorado College and the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth. x-x-x For More Information: Jhodi Redlich, 874-2116