Rose McDermott, Brown University political science professor and former vice president of the International Society of Political Psychology, will be the featured speaker at the School of Social Sciences’ inaugural David and Sylvia Easton Lecture.  Established in 2009 through an anonymous donation, the biannual series honors UCI Distinguished Research Professor David Easton’s commitment to interdisciplinary work on politics and the couple’s commitment to ethics. McDermott’s talk will explore the increasing rates of violence against women in polygamous sects as a form of membership control. 
   
Thursday, January 14, 2010
7:00-8:30 p.m.
Social and Behavioral Science Gateway, Room 1517
(bldg. 214, grid F10 on campus map )

The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available for $8 in the Social Science Parking Structure on the corner of Campus Drive and Stanford.

For further information, please contact Sandy Cushman, scushman@uci.edu.

BACKGROUND:

David Easton is a distinguished research professor in the School of Social Sciences’ Department of Political Science.  He is a past president of the American Political Science Association, past vice president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is widely known for his scholarly work on the operational structure of political systems.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto where he met his wife Sylvia, also an undergraduate.  In 1942, the couple moved to Massachusetts where David attended Harvard University.  He received his Ph.D. in political science and taught there until 1947.  He then joined the faculty at the University of Chicago before coming to UC Irvine in 1983.  His recent work has examined structural constraints underlying political systems.  Sylvia was an avid supporter of human rights and devoted her time to causes for the homeless, mentally handicapped and victims of abuse – efforts which earned her the Orange County Human Relations Commission’s award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Human Relations in 1989.  She passed away in 1990.  The series is being hosted by UCI’s Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality in the School of Social Sciences.  Co-sponsors include the Department of Political Science, Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies (CGPACS),
 Center for the Study of Democracy (SCD), Center for Research on International and Global Studies (RIGS), and School of Social Sciences.