EUGENE–Recent protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization could signal the start of a new era of social upheaval and change.

That’s the view of Frances Fox Piven, a leading scholar and commentator on poverty and politics in the United States, who will share her views on "The Rich, the Poor and American Politics" as the 19th occupant of the University of Oregon’s Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics.

"The finest achievements in American politics and policy are owed to periodic waves of protest by those who are usually unheard, and we may now be on the cusp of a new period of turmoil, creativity and reform," says Piven.

During her two-week visit to Oregon, Feb. 20—March 4, Piven will be addressing two themes–globalization and economic power.

"The overall theme of the visit is economic inequality which is taking a heavy toll on American life, and not only on the poor who are its first victims," says Piven. "The sense of community, of a common civil society, evaporates. When money talks as loudly as it does today, the voices of ordinary people cannot be heard, and democracy atrophies."

Piven will give two free public lectures in Eugene and one in Portland, and her visit will highlight the UO conference, "Work, Welfare and Politics," sponsored by the Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS) and the Labor Education and Research Center (LERC). Piven also will participate in a community forum, as well as discussions with students and faculty in several UO class sessions during her visit.

Piven’s schedule includes:

• Tuesday, Feb. 22–Morse public lecture, "Labor Power in a Global Economy," 7:30 p.m., Eugene Hilton Conference Center, 66 E. 6th Ave.

• Thursday, Feb. 24–Community Forum, sponsored by the Eugene Springfield Solidarity Network, 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive St., Eugene.

• Tuesday, Feb. 29–Keynote address, "The Rich, the Poor and American Politics," Work, Welfare and Politics conference, 1 p.m., Ballroom, Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Ave.

• Saturday, March 4–Lecture, "The Rich, the Poor and American Politics," Hoffman Hall, Portland State University, 1833 S.W. 11th., Portland.

"Frances Fox Piven’s eloquent and uncompromising critique of social welfare policies has been an expansive and democratizing force," says Margaret Hallock, co-chair of the Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics planning committee and LERC director. "Piven’s research has spanned nearly three decades and contributed to our understanding of the role of the state in welfare and inequality and the key role of protest in American politics."

Piven is credited with changing the thinking of a generation of scholars and activists with her 1971 seminal book, "Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare." With co-author Richard Cloward, she shows how public welfare systems are mechanisms of political and social change. Her other award-winning books include "Breaking the Social Compact," "Why Americans Don’t Vote," "The New Class War: Reagan’s Attack on the Welfare State and its Consequences," "Poor People’s Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail" and "Breaking the Social Compact," all co-authored with Cloward. She also wrote "The Mean Season: The Attack on the Welfare State," with Cloward, Fred Block and Barbara Ehrenreich.

"Piven’s activism with the welfare rights movement, combined with her scholarship, provides a powerful influence on policy from the time of ‘The War on Poverty’ in the 1960s to the present," says Hallock. "She is also respected for her activism and scholarship on the importance of political mobilization and the vote and is credited with establishing the ‘motor-voter’ concept, bringing voter registration to social agencies to enhance access to the vote."

Piven, 67, is currently Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the City University of New York. Previously, she was a professor of political science at Boston University and an assistant professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work.

A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Piven received her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago.

The Wayne Morse Chair was created in 1978 as a living memorial to the late Oregon senator and former dean of the UO School of Law. The chair is an endowed professorship financed by private donations and a matching federal grant.

Each occupant is selected by the UO president "on the basis of qualities and achievements exemplified in the life of Wayne L. Morse: courage, integrity, independence, teaching ability, statesmanship, scholarship and contributions to the enhancement of law, representative government and world peace."

A recent gift to the Morse Chair endowment funded an expansion of chair-related activities. This year, activities include classes in political science and LERC; the CSWS conference; a project involving the UO anthropology department, Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United, and Moviemiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan; as well as a community civic journalism project produced by KLCC radio. All were funded by "Vision Grants" from the Morse chair endowment and follow this year’s theme, "The Rich, the Poor, and American Politics."

For information, browse http://www.morsechair.uoregon.edu or call (541) 346-3700.

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