Common Ground
Cross-boundary dialogue on hot-button political issues

Latest News

Author Max Boot Discusses Ukraine War in Common Ground Lecture
Author, foreign policy expert, and Washington Post columnist Max Boot joined Professors Ty Seidule and Maurice Isserman to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine on Oct. 25. This event was an installment of the College’s Common Ground series, which aims to explore diverse political opinions, address complex social issues, and foster active, informed citizenship within the student body and Hamilton community.

Russia-Ukraine War: “Cultivating Compassion Toward Adversaries”
Former foreign minister of Russia Andrei Kozyrev and University of Rhode Island scholar Nicolai Petro discussed the war in Ukraine with Professor of Government Alan Cafruny on Nov. 15.

Common Ground: Income Inequality Causes, Consequences, Response
Christina Romer, a professor of economics at University of California, Berkeley, and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under the Obama administration, engaged in a dialogue with Greg Mankiw, a Harvard University professor of economics and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.
Previous Events
Condoleezza Rice and Susan Rice





Jim Messina and Reince Priebus





Mike Dubke ’92 and Marc Elias ’90




David Axelrod and Karl Rove







“The goal is for the speakers to model the kind of respectful dialogue across political boundaries that should occur not just on college campuses, but in the broader society as well. With capable speakers on both sides of a given issue, each willing to acknowledge strengths in the position of the other speaker, we aim to encourage students and other audience members to question their own assumptions and consider carefully the evidence and arguments supporting other viewpoints.
