Spring 2026 Series
The Swarthmore Discussion Group will hold its spring series at the Inn at Swarthmore. The series will consist of four monthly Wednesday evening presentations in January, February, March, and April. All presentations include a catered dinner.
JAN. 21, 2026
Immigration, Deportation, and Birthright Citizenship in the Second Trump Administration
Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, and
Carol Nackenoff, Richter Professor of Political Science Emerita, Swarthmore College
President Trump launched his second term by issuing executive orders removing migrants from the U.S., authorizing agents to enter formerly safe spaces, suspending refugee programs, halting most immigration from Latin America, Ukraine, and Afghanistan, and prospectively denying birthright citizenship for children of unauthorized aliens. Two senior scholars of American immigration and citizenship policies discuss the legality, ideology, and impacts of these dramatic initiatives..
FEB. 18, 2026
You Can't Say That: American Higher Education and the War on Free Speech
Jonathan Zimmerman, Professor of education and history, University of Pennsylvania
The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel triggered a new set of contradictions around free speech on American campuses. On the political right, the same people who formerly condemned universities as hostile to free speech demanded new restrictions on allegedly hateful statements. Meanwhile, left-wing voices who had demanded checks on hate speech became zealous advocates for protecting those same statements. This talk examines how we arrived at this frenzied moment and suggests a new way forward.
MARCH 18, 2026
Dictators and Diplomats: Orchestral Conducting Past and Present
Stephen O'Connell,
Gil and Frank Mustin Professor of Economics, Swarthmore College; Former Chief Economist, USAID
Foreign aid has been viewed by the U.S. government as a vital instrument of soft power for 75 years. Yet the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was one of the first major actions of the Trump administration. Why? And what does Project 2025 suggest may follow for institutional design and the targeting of assistance? What are the likely consequences of a major decline in foreign aid?
APRIL 15, 2026
Can Political Empathy Help De-polarize our Politics?
Lia Howard, Director of the Political Empathy Lab at the University of Pennsylvania
The Political Empathy Lab at the University of Pennsylvania explores how to build dialogue across today’s sharp political differences. A practice called “democratic listening” has shown great promise when used by UPenn students on multiple trips to communities across Pennsylvania. Having trained and led students on those trips, Prof. Howard will report on what they learned and what their experiences tell us about reducing political polarization.
