UC Irvine School of Social Ecology, Aspen Institute launch cross-partisan speaker series to tackle the nation's identity crisis

EVENT: Is American pluralism our greatest strength – or the force tearing us apart? As shifting demographics reshape the nation and political polarization reaches historic highs, UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology and the Aspen Institute present “Tackling the Nation’s Identity Crisis,” the first in a new speaker series on how to manage in America when everything seems to be changing.

WHEN/WHERE: 4-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences & Engineering, 100 Academy Way (bldg. 80, grid E1 on this campus map: https://web.communications.uci.edu/assets/email/dfa-tds/TDS-Website/maps/Main_UCIrvine-Map.pdf)

INFORMATION: The event is free and open to the public. Please register here: https://zotspot.uci.edu/SoEco/rsvp_boot?id=1941918. Complimentary parking is available in an adjacent lot. Media planning to attend should contact Mimi Ko Cruz at 714-932-8589 or mkcruz@uci.edu. Media opportunities include pre- and post-event interviews with speakers and audience reaction.

HIGHLIGHTS:

4-5:30 p.m. – Check-in and presentation

5:30-6:30 p.m. – Reception

Speakers include:

• Mike Madrid, UC Irvine School of Social Ecology senior fellow and GOP strategist who predicted the Latino vote shift
• Mona Charen, The Bulwark policy editor and syndicated columnist known for bridging conservative-liberal divides
• Shamil Idriss, CEO of Search for Common Ground and an expert in conflict resolution
• Erika D. Smith, BloombergWest Coast politics opinion columnist who covers demographic transformation

BACKGROUND: With election season intensifying and social divisions widening, the inaugural “Dialogue During a Time of Disruption” event promises the kind of substantive, cross-partisan conversation that’s becoming increasingly rare – and increasingly essential.

“Unlike typical political panels, this conversation focuses on finding common ground rather than scoring points – exactly what audiences are craving in our fractured partisan landscape,” said Jon Gould, dean of the School of Social Ecology. “This is the conversation America needs to have.”

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