Living Without Freedom

Date : Sat., May 05, 2007 to Sun., May 06, 2007 Category : Butcher History Institute

American students grow up in a free society; it is the only kind of society they really know.  To appreciate and comprehend the benefits of freedom, students need to know what it’s like to live without freedom – or worse, in conditions of harsh repression, even genocide.  To help teachers teach students about life without freedom, FPRI’s Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education, in cooperation with the National Constitution Center and the National Liberty Museum, is assembling some of the world’s leading analysts  — and witnesses  — of countries without freedom.  The conference will help teachers define totalitarianism while examining  the history of the idea of freedom. 

(Most of the conference sessions will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia; the Saturday evening program will be held at the National Liberty Museum, a few blocks away.)

Living Without Freedom Conference Summary by Trudy Kuehner

 

Topics and Speakers

China: The Cultural Revolution and Beyond

05/05/2007 - 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM
Wei Jingsheng

Author of The Courage to Stand Alone--Letters from Prison and Other Writings

Related Article(s):

The Cultural Revolution and Beyond

Welcoming Remarks

05/05/2007 - 11:00 AM to 11:10 AM
Eli Lesser

National Constitution Center

Alan Luxenberg

Director - Wachman Center for Civic and International Literacy

The Soviet Gulag

05/05/2007 - 1:00 PM to 2:10 PM
David Satter

Senior Fellow, Jamestown Foundation

Research Fellow, Hoover Institution

Related Article(s):

The Soviet Gulag

When Repression Masquerades as Social Justice: Confessions of a Cuban Boy

05/05/2007 - 2:30 PM to 3:45 PM
Carlos Eire

Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies, Yale University

Author of Waiting for Snow in Havana

Related Article(s):

When Repression Masquerades as Social Justice: Confessions of a Cuban Boy

Genocide: The Cases of Rwanda and Sudan

05/05/2007 - 4:00 PM to 5:15 PM
Alan J. Kuperman

LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas

Related Article(s):

Genocide: The Cases of Rwanda and Sudan

Lecture: Freedom: The History of an Idea

05/05/2007 - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
J. Rufus Fears

University of Oklahoma

Related Article(s):

Freedom: The History of an Idea

North Korea: The Nadir of Freedom

05/05/2007 - 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM
Kongdan Oh

Institute for Defense Analyses

Related Article(s):

North Korea: The Nadir of Freedom

What is Totalitarianism?

05/05/2007 - 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM
Edward Friedman

University of Wisconsin

Michael Radu

Related Article(s):

Living Without Freedom in China

Discussion: Ideas for the Classroom

05/05/2007 - 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Paul Dickler

Associate Director - Wachman Center for Civic and International Literacy

James Sanzare

Senior Fellow - Wachman Center for Civic and International Literacy

Location

Venue

National Liberty Museum

321 Chestnut Street PA Philadelphia 19106

Venue

National Constitution Center

525 Arch St
PA Philadelphia 19106

Registration links

Register Deadline

What Participants Receive:

Social studies and history teachers, as well as curriculum supervisors, are invited to apply for participation in the History Institute. Forty participants will be selected to receive:

  • free room and board;
  • assistance in designing curriculum and special projects based on the History Institute;
  • stipends of $250 in exchange for curriculum units based on the History Institute, plus a representative selection of student work;
  • partial travel reimbursements (up to $250) for participants outside the vicinity of the conference center;
  • subscription to Orbis, FPRI’s journal of world affairs; E-Notes, FPRI’s weekly bulletin; and Footnotes, FPRI’s bulletin for high school teachers.
  • For a nominal tuition fee, graduate credit for participation in the History Institute is available through Carthage College.