The Core 100 program invites students and faculty from the College to join us for our weekly lecture series. Each week, all of the first-year students participate in lecture-discussions with about 400 of their classmates. We have space in the Center for the Arts (Building 1P) Williamson Theatre to accommodate individual guests (no permission needed) and can have as many as two additional classes at each of the lectures. Permission is not required for classes to attend, but please notify Donna Scimeca at 718.982.3405 if you plan to bring a class.

The lectures are 50 minutes and are all in the Williamson Theatre. They meet on the following days/times: Wednesdays at 12:20pm, and Thursdays at 8:00am, 10:10am, 4:40pm, and 6:30pm.

Please note that in the spring, the Saturday 10:10am lectures are held in the Center for the Arts Lecture Hall, but due to space limitations, we unfortunately cannot accommodate additional classes.

The Lecture Series schedule for the week of Apr. 20, 2015 is as follows:

Wednesday, Apr. 22:

-12:20pm: “Management vs. Labor Strike: How Unions Gained Recognition in America by Government and Business,” presented by Arthur Cacace.

This lecture will discuss the struggle of the labor movement in the U.S., and how both government and business gradually began to modify their views on labor unions, and their right to recognition as bargaining agents for American workers. In particular, the history of the labor movement in the U.S. will be discussed, from the first strikes in the early 1800s through the 1930s when labor unions finally won the prize of recognition. The General Motors Sit-In strike of 1936 will be examined in detail to illustrate how government and business finally were forced to accept the existence and legitimacy of labor unions.

Arthur Cacace earned his Master of Science degree in Social Studies Secondary Education from the College of Staten Island.  He has taught history in the NYC Public School System and has been an Adjunct Professor for Core 100 at CSI since 2008.

Thursday, Apr. 23:

-8:00am:  “The Government’s Role in the Economy,” presented by John Lentine.

From Marx to Rand in theory and from the Roosevelt to Reagan in practice, this lecture will cover the historical basis for our contemporary arguments on the proper role of the government in the economy.

John Lentine received his Bachelor’s of Science in Public Policy and Master’s in Public from Penn State University.

-10:10am: Special Guest/Event: “Shaping the Supreme Court:  Roosevelt, Nixon, and the Politics of Law.”

In partnership with the CSI Legal Studies Institute, the Core Program is pleased to present Kevin McMahon, Professor of Political Science at Trinity College, and the author of a number of books, including, Nixon’s Court: His Challenge to Judicial Liberalism and Its Political Consequences and Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown.

-4:40pm and 6:30pm:  “The Great Recession,” presented by Joseph Frusci

The Great Recession of the late 2000s has been the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.  This lecture will examine the similarities and differences between the Great Depression and the Great Recession of 2008 by understanding the actions of the U.S. Government and Federal Reserve during a deflationary economy.

Joseph Frusci is a prior service Army National Guardsman who earned a BA and MA in History and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree (EdD) at Northeastern University.  He has been teaching with the Core program since 2012, and is the author of 2008 Bailout, the newest Reacting to the Past game, which engages students in the complexities of the economic crisis of 2007-2008. He also teaches American History and Economics for the New York City Department of Education.