Pritzker Fellow Laura Dove on "Let's Talk About the Filibuster"

(Current UChicago Students Only)

Tuesday, October 18

12:30-1:45 PM

No Senate rule is more polarizing (or less understood) than the filibuster. The Senate’s tolerance for extended (sometimes endless) debate has been glorified in Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.“ This week we will look at the modern filibuster, its quiet cousin the “secret hold,” as well as what happens when the rule is changed. We can look at the legendary filibusters of the past (Strom Thurmond and his iron bladder, Ted Cruz reading Dr. Seuss and the decades in between) and the quiet, tacit filibusters of recent years, with record numbers of cloture votes and the majority’s stranglehold on the amendment process. Questions we will address and debate: How does the filibuster actually work? What do you think might pass if the filibuster were gone and the Democrats were in charge? How about the Republicans? Why didn’t those things pass when President Obama had the House and Senate, and when President Trump and the Republicans ran the table in 2016?

Special Guest: Richard Arenberg, Professor of Political Science at Brown University, Filibuster Expert & Author of "Defending the Filibuster: Soul of the Senate"

Pritzker Fellows seminars are off the record and open to current UChicago students only. Seating in the IOP Living Room is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

This convening is open to current UChicago students who are compliant with UChicago vaccination requirements and, because of ongoing health risks, particularly to the unvaccinated, participants are expected to adopt the risk mitigation measures (masking and social distancing, etc.) appropriate to their vaccination status as advised by public health officials or to their individual vulnerabilities as advised by a medical professional. Public convening may not be safe for all and carries a risk for contracting COVID-19, particularly for those unvaccinated. Participants will not know the vaccination status of others and should follow appropriate risk mitigation measures.

If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact Ashley Jorn (ashleyjorn@uchicago.edu).