The East Brunswick Public Library will offer the “Understanding America” program series to give the community the opportunity to learn about and discuss some of the biggest issues of the day.
The series begins with the program “Special Interests in Politics: Draining the Swamp or Cultivating the Wetlands?” at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26. This program takes a look at lobbyists as a part of politics. This program is led by Beth Leech, a professor of Political Science at Rutgers University. Leech’s current project, Agendas and Interest Groups, is a three-year, four-country study that compares the policy concerns of interest groups with those of the general public.
Elizabeth C. Matto, an associate research professor at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, will present “Talking Politics: Disagreeing without Being Disagreeable” at 7 p.m. on Oct. 10. Matto’s lecture focuses on being able to engage in honest but productive political discourse.
On Nov. 7, Carlos Ulises Decena, an associate professor and chair of Latino and Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University, will lead the program “Immigrant State: New Jersey’s Influential Gate: at 7 p.m. Decena will explore the distinct immigration patterns of the state. This program is co-sponsored by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
The series ends on Dec. 4 with a screening of the PBS documentary “American Creed.” Produced by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy, this film chronicles what it means to be an American. Following the film, there will be a discussion moderated by Sylvia Chan-Malik, associate professor of American and Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University. The “American Creed” screening is co-sponsored by the East Brunswick Human Relations Committee.
All of the programs in the Understanding America series are free and open to the public.
The library is located at 2 Civic Center Dr., East Brunswick.
For more information, visit www.ebpl.org/calendar.