Urban landscapes focus of Clifford Symposium

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The Clifford Symposium has become an annual tradition at Middlebury College. Held at the beginning of each school year, it attempts to establish a long-term dialogue about issues of interest to the college community. The 2006 symposium, entitled "Urban Landscapes: the Politics of Expression," focused on the intersection of political ideas and creativity in the inner-city environment. Numerous speakers were invited to deliver lectures in their specific fields of expertise.


Millenium Park
By Tamara Hilmes

Last weekend's Clifford Symposium concluded Saturday with a 4 p.m. lecture by urban historian and Loyola University professor Timothy J. Gilfoyle. Approximately 35 members of the Middlebury community convened in the library's Harman Periodicals Reading Area to listen to the author of Millennium Park: Creating a Chicago Landmark, discuss the innovative park which, since its opening in 2004, has attracted four million visitors annually and received over 40 architectural and design awards.

Intended to epitomize the "new Chicago," transcend racial, ethnic and socioeconomic divisions, the 24.5 acre park is also meant to symbolize the integration of public and private sectors. Rising from the ruins of a decrepit, old railroad yard - it boasts impressive bridges, pavilions and fountains as well as a garden, café, ice rink, theater and cycle center. The bold undertaking, which Gilfoyle characterized as having been "one of the most controversial projects in Chicago" - was funded in large part by "major gifts" of three to 15 million dollars by the city's prominent families, and was intended by its designers to be to Chicago what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.

Among Millennium Park's prominent features are its existence as a veritable outdoor art museum, eschewing a single theme and instead showcasing works by a diverse array of artists such as Frank Gehry, Anish Kapoor, Jaume Plensa and Kathryn Gustafson. While critics of the park initially dismissed the establishment as a "sculpture garden on steroids," Gilfoyle maintains that "big, massive public art" plays a vital role in attracting the community's attention. "Politicians come and go; business leaders come and go, but artists really define a city," asserts Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley in the jacket description of Gilfoyle's recently released book.

Since the project's completion, 1,800 new residential units have cropped up in the park's vicinity, fueling revenue from hotels, restaurants and shopping and symbolizing a trend in which "culture and tourism spur economic development."

Citing examples from Spain to Australia in an effort to establish the "global competition all cities face," Gilfoyle suggests that Millennium Park is Chicago's resounding answer to global competition as a 21st century landmark.


Neoliberalism and the City
By Nathan Zucker

David Harvey, professor of anthropology at the City University of New York, delivered the Symposium's keynote address on Sept. 29th. His speech, "Neoliberalism and the City," exposed the social and political injustice created by runaway capitalism and the implementation of neoliberal economic policy. The event was a stunning success, as Mead Chapel was filled with an appreciative and interested audience that buzzed with energy and questions following Harvey's talk.

To begin his lecture, Harvey discussed the values of freedom and liberty, ideas central to the American consciousness. Using President George W. Bush's speeches as evidence, he proved that these concepts are very much alive in our society today. However, Harvey then went on to show that Bush's definition of freedom is very different from the traditional, American usage of the word. In the President's eyes, liberty means the right of businesses to practice unrestrained capitalism, he asserted. The situation in Iraq, according to Harvey, is a perfect example of the way in which the administration wishes to implement neoliberal, non-restrictive economic programs.

Harvey then discussed the conception that neoliberal policies help big business but generally have negative effects on the larger population. He used as his primary example the bankruptcy of New York City in 1975, which he claims was essentially engineered by wealthy investment bankers. The destruction of the city's economy allowed for big business to take control, promising to fix New York's budgetary woes in exchange for free reign regarding development and the allocation of public services. As soon as the bankers obtained power, they reduced public spending, thus hurting the poorer residents of the area. Similar situations have occurred in Mexico, Chile and in many other developing nations, where the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have insisted upon neoliberal economics that benefit business but hurt the common man.

In his 75-minute address, Harvey provided ample evidence to suggest that citizens must resist neoliberalism and corporatism, especially in our nation's cities, stating, "We have to connect what type of cities we want to what types of people we want to be."


Hip Hop, a Political Power?
By Kelly Janis

On Saturday, Sept. 30, Middlebury students sacrificed sleeping in until noon to gather into McCullogh Social Space to hear Bakari Kitwana speak on hip hop and its emergence as a burgeoning political movement. Kitwana, who has been a guest on the likes of CNN and the O'Reilly Factor, is the co-founder of the National Hip Hop Political Convention and author of several books on hip-hop politics, including his latest, "Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes and the New Reality of Race in America." In his lecture "Can Hip-Hop Make the Transition from Cultural Movement to Political Power?" Kitwana addressed the possibility of hip-hop emerging as a political faction in the United States.

"What can we do to get the greatest country in the world back on track?" Kitwana queried at the start of his lecture. Through the course of his lecture, he addressed this question by stressing the fact that a significant political movement is needed - one which will cross racial divides and bridge the generation gap. Hip-hop, he asserted, can do both.

"Hip hop culture is a world view," proclaimed Kitwana. "It has become a national, unified, youth culture. Across the nation young people are dressing the same way and using the same language." Given this established ethos, he argued, the network needed for hip-hop to move into political focus is already there.

He claimed that it would take little work to get young people politically organized and stressed that "first and foremost we need to bring young people together to form a political agenda." "As a generation of young people," he maintained, "we can't afford to just sit on the sidelines."

In addressing this issue, Kitwana was not the typical guest lecturer. Interspersed with statistics on incarceration and employment rates were references to popular television shows such as MTV's "Flava of Love" and "Pimp My Ride," as well as prominent artists such as Eminem and 50 Cent. Kitwana also invited the audience to participate at the end of the lecture by asking questions. Students eagerly responded, inquiring about a range of topics including misogynic themes and political messages present in mainstream hip-hop.

Kitwana's lecture certainly incited further student discussion. "Mainstream hip hop has multi-tiered lyrics," voiced Knef King '08, one of the students who posed a question to Kitwana, "The music has subversive political themes." "Hip hop is probably my biggest motivation in life," King admitted, "I have quoted Bakari Kitwana a lot."