University Honors Program


University Honors Program
Hurst Hall, Suite 206
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
Phone: (202) 885-6194
Fax: (202) 885-7013
E-mail: honors@american.edu
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm
          
Contact the Honors Staff

HONORS TEA TALKS Tea Talks are informal meetings between Honors students and leading professionals and/or professors in various fields. The Tea Talks provide a relaxed atmosphere where students can learn about and discuss timely issues with individuals on the forefront of these matters.

Spring 2007 PROFESSOR JAMES THURBER On Congress and Bush With Democrats now in control of Congress, what will this mean for relations between the U.S. government’s Legislative and Executive branches? Distinguished School of Public Affairs professor James Thurber spoke to Honors students on “Congress and the President: Cooperation and Conflict.”	Prof. James Thurber Click here to listen to the Tea Talk with Prof. Thurber. (mp3, 63 KB)
The Director of AU’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, which focuses on Congress and congressional-presidential relations, Professor Thurber is also author and co-author of numerous books and more than 75 articles and chapters about Congress and Congress-related topics, including congressional budgeting, congressional reform, lobbying and interest groups, and congressional campaigns and elections.



Fall 2006 PROFESSOR NAOMI BARON What Hath Facebook Wrought? Professor Baron, from the Department of Language and Foreign Studies, spoke to the Honors community about Facebook and its effect on society. The study of on-line communities as a computer-mediated method of communication is one of her principal areas of interest.


Fall 2006 PROFESSOR AKBAR AHMED Islam in the Age of Globalization Honors students, staff, and faculty, listened to Professor Ahmed speak about his recent research trip in the Middle East, South Asia and Far East Asia. Frankie Martin, who traveled with Professor Ahmed as a research assistant and met and talked to Muslims from all parts of society, attended the tea talk as well.
Professor Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies and Professor of International Relations at American University in Washington, D.C., and the former Pakistan High Commissioner to Great Britain. He has advised Prince Charles and met with President George W. Bush on Islam. In addition, Professor Ahmed is a distinguished anthropologist, writer, and filmmaker. He has been actively involved for many years in interfaith dialogue and the study of global Islam and its impact on contemporary society. Professor Ahmed also regularly teaches an Honors colloquia called “Dialogue or Clash of Cultures,” which explores the unity of faith in different cultures, the sustainability of economic developments, and the cooperation of and between political systems.


Spring 2006 INTERIM PRESIDENT DR. KERWIN AU Past, Present, and Future: An Evening Tea Talk with Interim President Kerwin
What is the future of AU? In what key ways has AU changed in the past 25 years? 5 years? 5 months? What are the next steps in AU’s governance? How is AU addressing the challenges facing AU undergraduates as they prepare for future careers? And just what does an Interim President do? Interim President Kerwin received his BA from American University in 1971. He later joined the AU faculty in 1975 and has been with American University for over three decades as a faculty member, dean, provost, and now, interim president. As such, he has participated in and witnessed the many changes that have occurred at the university.		Interim President Kerwin

Spring 2006 AMBASSADOR ANTHONY QUAINTON "Representing America: How Difficult Is It?" Diplomacy was once considered a glamorous profession for the idle rich. America’s preponderant weight in the world and the policy challenges which come with it pose extraordinary challenges for American diplomats.		Ambassador Quainton
How should they present policies as controversial as the war in Iraq and the struggle against Islamic terrorism? How are they to explain human rights abuses committed in America’s name? But the challenges of diplomacy are not merely substantive. Ambassadors must often serve without their families in an environment in which security threats are almost constant. Diplomacy is no longer a soft option but rather America’s first line of defense. Anthony Quainton is currently a Distinguished Diplomat in Residence in the School of International Service. During almost 40 years in the American Foreign Service, he was Ambassador to Peru, Kuwait, Nicaragua and the Central African Republic.

Fall 2005 PROFESSOR KATHRYN MONTGOMERY "Youth as E-Citizens" The Jetsons as an educational program? Kathryn Montgomery, then-co-director of the Center for Media Education (CME), a non-profit organization, challenged television stations that argued the cartoon show met Federal Communication Commission educational programming requirements. Montgomery, now an School of Communications professor, organized a media campaign to take on the broadcasters and to convince Capitol Hill of the need to strengthen educational programming requirements. Prof. Montgomery will discuss her current research on “Youth as E-Citizens”. While much has been written about the potential pitfalls of youth and the internet, Montgomery is exploring the way in which the Internet and the digital media culture empower youth.
Montgomery maintains that the internet provides an important venue for youth to participate in democracy and culture. She points to the unprecedented mobilization of young people in the 2004 presidential election as counterevidence to the purported decline in youth civic participation.

Fall 2005 PROFESSOR PATRICK JACKSON (Honors Professor of the Year 2004-2005) "Science, Politics, and the Jedi: Lessons from George Lucas and Max Weber" What does George Lucas have to say about US foreign policy? What does Max Weber have to tell us about the politics of Star Wars? Professor Jackson will be exploring the relationship between a German social theorist and a California filmmaker in a talk replete with film clips, philosophy, and some observations on the contemporary political scene.


Fall 2004 JULIAN BOND TEA TALK Civil Rights and Liberties and the 2004 Election From his student days to his current Chairmanship of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Professor Julian Bond has been an active participant in the movements for civil rights and economic justice. As an activist who has faced jail for his convictions, as a veteran of more than 20 years service in the Georgia General Assembly, as a university professor, and as a writer, he has been on the cutting edge of social change since 1960.


Fall 2004 ALLAN LICHTMAN TEA TALK The 13 Keys to the Presidency: Predicting the 2004 Election Allan Lichtman, professor in the History Department at American University and author of The Keys to the Presidency, spoke to Honors students regarding his prediction of the 2004 election. Lichtman is the editor of the Lexington Books series, Studies in Modern American History. He received the 1992-1993 Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award, the University's highest faculty honor, and has provided political commentary to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, BBC, as well as other international networks. Professor Lichtman is a columnist for the Montgomery Gazette and has served as an expert witness in more than 60 voting rights and redistricting cases.


Spring 2004 SAM DONALDSON TEA TALK Sam Donaldson, Author, News Anchor and Veteran Washington Correspondent, joined the University Honors Program for an Honors Tea Talk on March 31, 2004. Donaldson, a 35-year ABC News veteran, served two appointments as chief White House correspondent for ABC News from January 1998 to August 1999 and from 1977-1989, covering Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Mr. Donaldson is currently the co-anchor, with Cokie Roberts, of the ABC News Sunday morning broadcast, This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts.


Other Tea Talks during the 2003-4 academic year featured Prof. Akbar Ahmed in a discussion on the clash of civilizations; Prof. Reuben Brigety who discussed his work as part of the Human Rights Watch research mission in Iraq in May 2003 to develop a count on civilian casualties as a result of the war; Dr. Candice J. Nelson who presented "From the Primaries to the General Campaign, and Everything in Between!"; and Prof. Rick Stack reviewing his latest book on wrongful convictions and the death penalty. The international speaker at the Tea Talk series this year was Professor Browyn Davies from the University of Western Sydney, who has published extensively on feminist discourse and positioning theory.

Spring 2003 DIANE REHM TEA TALK Diane Rehm, internationally famous host of "The Diane Rehm Show," talked at the University Honors Center on April 3, 2003 on "Interviewing as Public Discourse."