9:30-10:30: Social/Cultural Change
Presidents’ Hall

The Significance of the Arab Spring
Khaldoun Samman, Associate Professor of Sociology, Director of Middle East and Islamic Studies, Macalester College

The so-called Arab Spring is, like other revolutionary moments, a project in the making. It has its ebbs and flows, revolutionary and counter-revolutionary phases. Samman will look at its multiple expressions in Egypt and elsewhere to see what possibilities lay before us. He will also review some of the obstacles facing the Arab Spring in places like Syria and Bahrain.

10:45-11:45: Public Policy
Presidents’ Hall

The 1862 Dakota War: A Point of View – Past, Present, and Future
Syd Beane, Educator and Documentary Filmmaker of Dakota, French, and English heritage

The 1862 Dakota War in Minnesota has been called one of the least understood periods in the history of the State. This confrontation between the original Dakota inhabitants and non-natives has been characterized historically in the United States as having the largest number of noncombatants killed before 9-11 and the largest mass hanging, when 38 Dakota were hung at Mankato. This history will be presented from the perspective of the Dakota who were placed in a concentration camp at Fort Snelling following the war and then exiled from the state.

11:45-Noon
Announcements

12:15-1:15
Luncheon

Program Committee: Association Room

1:15-2:15: Education
Presidents’ Hall

Bully Busters
Dr. Kara Witt, Senior Psychologist and Supervisor, Ramsey County Mental Health Center

Dr. Witt will describe what bullying is, what it is not, and why bullying is so prevalent now. We will learn the root causes of bullying, the rewards for the persons engaged, as well as the reasons for the passivity of the bystanders who fail to intervene in the target’s defense. She will discuss how to deal effectively with bullying.