The Lawrence community next week will have an opportunity to discuss the all-consuming topic of democracy as part of the University of Kansas’ first Democracy Day event, hosted by KU’s Center for Democratic Governance.

The inaugural event will be held on Friday, Sept. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union, and feature an array of researchers and professors from across several social science disciplines at KU, according to a university press release.

Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss the future of self-government and listen to nearly a dozen KU faculty members on a variety of topics, including populism, journalistic accountability, the role of religion in public K-12 education, and the strength of the American presidency, among others.

“We often take democracy and our self-governance for granted,” said Ashley Muddiman, an associate professor of communication studies at KU and a co-director of the Center for Democratic Governance. “The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a great opportunity to take stock. What is going well? What could be improved? What threats are facing democracy in the U.S and around the world?”

The event, which falls during the same week as International Day of Democracy and the U.S.-based Constitution Day, will be divided into a series of four short talks, each concluding with a question and answer period with the session’s speakers.

Registration for the event is encouraged and can be accessed on the center’s webpage at cdg.ku.edu/events.