Vanden Heuvel will speak on role of grassroots social movements, independent journalism

Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation magazine, will speak “On the Nation and Our Political Movement” in the next presentation of the University Lectures series at Syracuse University on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The event is the University Lectures’ tribute to the 75th anniversary of the Syracuse Peace Council.

Vanden Heuvel will offer analysis of the current political moment and speak about the important role that grassroots social movements and independent journalism can play in building a humane, sustainable world. The lecture is free and open to the public; reduced-rate parking will be available in the Irving Garage. Sign language interpretation and CART will be available for this lecture.

Vanden Heuvel is the award-winning editor and publisher of The Nation magazine. She has received awards for public service from numerous groups, including the Liberty Hill Foundation, the Correctional Association and the Association for American-Russian Women. In 2003, she received the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Callaway Prize for the Defense of the Right of Privacy. She is also the recipient of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s 2003 “Voices of Peace” award, and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s 2006 “Justice in Action” award. She is co-editor of “Meltdown: How Greed and Corruption Shattered Our Financial System and How We Can Recover” (Nation Books, 2009), and “Taking Back America–And Taking Down the Radical Right” (Nation Books, 2004).

She is a frequent commentator on American and international politics on ABC, MSNBC, CNN and PBS. Her articles have appeared in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Foreign Policy magazine and Boston Globe. Vanden Heuvel writes a weekly column, “Editor’s Cut,” at http://thenation.com.

The Office of University Lectures welcomes suggestions for future speakers. To recommend a speaker, or to receive additional information about the University Lectures series, contact Esther Gray in the Office of Academic Affairs at 443-2941 or eegray@syr.edu. More information can be found at http://lectures.syr.edu.

Other scheduled guests during the fall 2011 semester include humorist and author David Sedaris (Oct. 11–all tickets for this lecture have been distributed); Moira Gunn, host of NPR’s Tech Nation, in conversation with scientists Carol Finn, Pamela Matson and Elsa Reichmanis ’72, G’75 (Oct. 26); and journalist and author Bob Herbert (Nov. 15).

During the spring 2012 semester, guests will include author Jonathan Franzen, in conversation with writer and professor George Saunders (March 6); novelist Zadie Smith (March 20); and environmentalist and author Terry Tempest Williams (March 29).