Register Now:
Coercion and the Helping Professions
 Conference 
Co-hosted by FSU’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Augustus B. Turnbull III Conference Center at FSU

When, if ever, is it justifiable for the state to use coercion against its citizens? When a citizen is perceived to be at risk for suicide, does involuntary hospitalization and treatment make sense? What about when citizens are addicted to drugs, parents neglect their children, or are threats to public health? Under what circumstances, and using what scientific evidence, has the state the right (or responsibility) to use force against citizens? The upcoming conference, Coercion and the Helping Professions: Assessing the Pros and Cons, will address these issues and more.

The conference is hosted by Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the College of Social Work, in conjunction with the Institute of Humane Studies. Leading international thinkers and researchers in their respective professions (Addictions, Child Welfare, Criminology, Medicine, Mental Health & Philosophy) will come together at FSU to discuss the philosophical and ethical justifications for and against the use of involuntary methods and policies in contemporary society. These issues will be evaluated in light of the best current empirical evidence, best practices and potential policy solutions.

Students, faculty, clinicians, and the general public are invited to attend. The conference is free and lunch will be provided. RSVP today! 

Speakers Scheduled to Present:
David J. Rothman, PhD, New York, New York                                                             Medicine
Professor of Social Medicine and Professor of History at Columbia University. Director of the Center on Medicine as a Profession at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Author of The Discovery of the Asylum; Conscience and Convenience: The Asylum and Its Alternatives in Progressive America; The Willowbrook Wars (with Sheila M. Rothman); Strangers at the Bedside; Beginnings Count, Trust is not Enough.  

Gavin Davidson, PhD, Belfast, Northern Ireland                                                    Mental Health
Senior Lecturer at the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. Queen’s Coordinator for the Approved Social Work Programme. Social Work representative on the Department of Health’s Reference Group for the Mental Capacity Act Northern Ireland 2016. Author of Models of Mental Health (w/ Jim Campbell, Ciaran Shannon and Ciaran Mulholland) and Post Qualifying Mental Health Social Work Practice (w/ Jim Campbell).

Gary Melton, PhD, Crozet, Virginia                                                                               Child Welfare
Associate Director for Community Development and Social Policy, Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. Editor or author of numerous books, including: Psychological Evaluations for the Courts:  A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals and Lawyers; Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect:  Foundations for a New National Strategy; Reforming the Law: Impact of Child Development Research.

Thomas Blomberg, PhD, Tallahassee, Florida                                                           Criminology
Dean and Sheldon L. Messinger Professor of Criminology at Florida State University; Executive Director of the Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research, College of Criminology at Florida State University. Editor of Criminology & Public Policy (2007-2013) and author and editor of numerous books, including: Social Control and the Proliferation of Juvenile Court Services; Punishment and Social Control (with Stanley Cohen); American Penology: A History of Control; Public Policy and Criminology; and Data-Driven Juvenile Justice Education.

Bruce K. Alexander, PhD, Vancouver, Canada                                                           Addictions
Professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University. Author of The Globalization of Addiction; Peaceful Measures: Canada’s Way Out of the ‘War on Drugs’; and co-developer of the famous ‘Rat Park’ experiments.

Michael Huemer, PhD, Boulder, Colorado                                                                    Philosophy
Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Author of more than fifty articles on issue on ethics/meta-ethics, philosophy of science, metaphysics, and political philosophy. Author of The Problem of Political Authority; Ethical Intuitionism; Skepticism and the Veil of Perception; and most recently Approaching Infinity.