Auburn Public Library plans to host three events in February leading up to the 2022 Camden Conference “Europe: Challenged At Home and Abroad” and scheduled for Friday through Sunday, Feb. 25-27.
The conference will be an entirely virtual event, live-streamed from Camden.
According to a news release from the library, the conference was founded in 1987 as a nonprofit, non-partisan educational organization whose mission is to foster informed discourse on world issues. Each year, organizers host a conference, with participating libraries offering community events related to their theme.
The following events also will be held virtually:
• Film Screening & Discussion: The European Union Explained, 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3.
A film screening and discussion of the documentary, “The European Union Explained.” Key topics will include the history of the European Union, the EU institutions, and arguments for and against. This program will take place in person in the Androscoggin Community Room. For planning purposes, registration is required.
• Populism & Nationalism in Europe, presented by Francesco Duina, Professor of Sociology and European Studies, Bates College, 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9.
Duina has held appointments at Harvard University, Copenhagen Business School, and the University of British Columbia, where he was Professor and Head of Sociology from 2013 to 2015. He is the author of nearly 30 articles in leading academic journals, op-ed pieces in newspapers such as the LA Times and The Guardian, and six books. The most recent is “Broke and Patriotic: Why Poor Americans Love Their Country” Stanford University Press, 2018.
Right-wing populist parties have scored major victories in Europe. This talk will explore their surprising ability to weave right-wing ideologies with left-wing or progressive positions. These positions include support for gay people, gender equality, and generous welfare policies. The talk will consider the cases of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, the National Rally in France, and the Sweden Democrats.
For planning purposes, registration is required to receive the Zoom link emailed on Feb. 9.
• Book Discussion: How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16
Drawing on decades of research and a wide range of historical and global examples — from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela to the American South during Jim Crow — Levitsky and Ziblatt show how democracies die, and how America’s can be saved.
The authors are professors of government at Harvard University. Levitsky’s research focuses on Latin America and the developing world; Ziblatt studies Europe from the 19th century to the present.
To register, call the reference desk at 207-333-6640, ext. 4, and provide an email address when registering so the library can reach out when the book is available for pick up. Because of funding provided by the Camden Conference, the book is participants’ to keep.
To register for any of these programs, visit the Events page at auburnpubliclibrary.org, call the reference desk or email dwallace@auburnpubliclibrary.org.
For more details on the conference, including participating speakers, membership, or other pre-conference events, visit camdenconference.org.
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