Citizen: An American Lyric
This month’s book is both poetry and criticism, Citizen: An American Lyric. Rankine’s piece is a revolution. A political, a poetic, complex revolution in 169 pages. We look at it through an unusual lens – what should we take away from works of art as we think about governance in America?
Richard II
What is the great tragedy in The Tragedy of Richard II? What makes a good leader – a king, a president? Can Shakespeare inform political discussions today? Listen and see what our guests think.
What I Saw at the Revolution
What I Saw at the Revolution is a political memoir for those who don’t usually read political memoirs, a testimony to the power of language in politics. Noonan was a speechwriter for President Reagan, in both of his terms. Join us for a conversation on the power of language in politics and for a look at how our Federal government works.
Policy visits the Playhouse again
by Donnajean Ward Last year the Bedrosian Center started a new initiative called Policy at the Playhouse as a way to discuss and explore public policy and governance through the lens of art and culture. Artists have often called out and wrestled with politics, leadership and pressing social issues in ways Read more…
Detroit: Our students get the last word
by Donnajean Ward In May of this year, I accompanied a group of USC Price undergraduates to Detroit for a week to not only visit and view the oft-discussed decline and nascent revitalization of the city but to actually participate in moving forward a set of existing projects by partnering Read more…
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Written in 1968, Do Androids Dream of ElectricSheep is set in a near-future San Francisco amid vast desertion to off-world colonies. Those remaining on Earth contend with nuclear fallout dust and other dangers. Dick asks fundamental questions in the novel and our discussion touches on just a few of these.
Urban Farms, Gardens, and Food Desert Myths
by Donnajean Ward Detroit is famous for a lot of things and more and more the city is becoming known for urban farming. During our week-long visit as part of the Price School’s LEAP Detroit Lab, we saw the range of urban farming and gardening first hand. Lafayette Greens was just Read more…
LEAP Lab in Detroit
by Donnajean Ward Last month, from May 17-23, 2015, I was a member of a team taking a group of 15 undergraduates from USC Price to the City of Detroit as part of academic lab focused on social, environmental, and urban issues. The program , Learning to Excel Academically and Professionally Read more…
Introducing Policy at the Playhouse
by Donnajean Ward A new initiative, Policy at the Playhouse, at Bedrosian Center recognizes that conversations about governance take place in many different fora and are voiced by many different communities. We said an enthusiastic “Yes!” to the opportunity to lead a post-show discussion at the historic Pasadena Playhouse after a performance of The Read more…
Why Don’t They Teach Civics Anymore?
by Donnajean Ward At our most recent Bedrosian Center board meeting we talked about the disappearance of civics from school curricula. So I wasn’t surprised when I typed “civics” into Google that the first thing to pop up was an offer from my local SoCal Honda dealer – an Accord LX Read more…
Landmark – a must read
by Donnajean Ward Landmark: The Inside Story of America’s New Health-Care Law and What It Means for Us All By The Staff of the Washington Post In about 200 clear and concise pages, the ins and outs of “Obamacare” are navigated and, guess what, it’s not all that complicated. From “How we got Read more…
Lincoln, a lesson in governance
Donnajean Ward reviews Steven Spielberg’s latest film “Lincoln” as lesson in governance.