The Blue Ridge Center for Lifelong Learning invites you to attend six Great Decisions lectures beginning at 10am on Wednesday, February 3 in the Cortland Conference Room of the Technical Education and Development Center at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock. This lecture series is open to the general public and you do not need to be a member of BRCLL to participate.

The series is sponsored by the national Foreign Policy Association (FPA) and the Asheville’s World Affairs Council.  The sessions are intended to promote international awareness of world issues by providing nonpartisan briefing and expert presentations on a variety of subjects.

Topics:

February 3	Russia and Its Neighbors Dr. Yana Pitner
February 10	The Global Financial Crisis Professor Barbara Boerner
February 17	The Persian Gulf Dr. Larry Wilson
February 24	US-China Security Relations Dr. Jim Lenberg
March 12	Kenya and Requirement to Protect Ambassador Peter Chavaes
March 10	Preventing Genocide Dr. Paul Magnarella

 

Feb. 3 - Russia and Its Neighbors, Dr. Yana Pitner

Content: Russia's policy of maintaining a "sphere of influence" in former Soviet satellites has been challenged in recent years by movements against pro-Russia regimes. Russia has pushed back by cutting Ukraine's natural gas supply and intervening in Georgia's campaign in South Ossetia. Will Russia regain its traditional leadership role in the region?

Presenter: Dr. Yana Pitner – is a native of Russia, having immigrated to the United States in the last decade.  Currently she is serving as an adjunct professor of history and political science at UNCA, teaching Russian and European History, as well as other courses in International Affairs.   She holds history and international studies degrees from Ekaterinburg Russia’s Ural State Vocational Pedagogical University, where she complemented her graduate research on WWII with residencies and archival work in Italy and England.   She is a published author and has participated in seminars and conferences in cities throughout Eastern & Western Europe, and in the US. 

Feb. 10 - The Global Financial Crisis, Professor Barbara Boerner

Content: The global financial crisis that began in late 2007 revealed major deficiencies in the regulation of markets and institutions, all of which came perilously close to collapse. Emergency measures to prevent a full collapse of the global financial system have led to mixed results. How will governments and the world community respond to this challenge?

Presenter: Prof. Barbara Boerner – is an Associate Professor of Business & Organizational Leadership at Brevard College.  A first-generation American of parents who hail from Slovakia/Hungary and Germany, she holds Degrees from Loyola, American University and UNC-G.   Her first career was in education (doing graduate work in the physical sciences, biology, and quantum chemistry) but winning a slot as the first teacher to enter Loyola’s MBA program, put her on the economics and international business track about which she now teaches and writes.

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Feb 17 - The Persian Gulf, Dr. Larry Wilson

Content: Now more than ever, the Persian Gulf region offers many difficult challenges to U.S. policymakers. How will Obama's direct appeal to Arabs and Muslims impact U.S. foreign policy in the region? What will the fallout of withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq be? Can the U.S. and its allies prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons?

Presenter: Dr. Larry Wilson – has been an educator, President of Marietta College in Ohio, interim president of UNC-A, and most recently a founder and Provost of Zayed University in the United Arab Emerites, which he continues to advise and visit several times a year.  He and his wife lived in the UAE for six years. He was one of the founders of the WNC chapter of the World Affairs Council, continuing to serve as a board member and a coordinator of its high-school Academic World Quest program.

Feb. 24 - U.S./China Security Relations, Dr. Jim Lenburg

Content: China's influence is growing, along with its military expenditures. How will this growth affect China's relations with its neighbors and with the U.S.? Will China's expanding military and economic power affect traditional U.S. roles and U.S. alliances in East Asia? How will countries like Japan, South Korea and India respond?

Presenter: Dr. Jim Lenburg  – is emeritus professor of History at Mars Hill College, has personal and professional associations with China.  He has taught in Chinese Universities for two separate academic years, has led several tours to the continent.  Among his most storied was a tour he lead there the summer of the Tiananmen Square uprising.  He is currently teaching a class on China in UNCA’s College For Seniors, and is past president of the WNC chapter of the World Affairs Council.

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Mar. 3 - Kenya and Requirement to Protect, Ambassador Peter Chavaes

Content: Post-election rioting in Kenya in December 2007 brought pressure on Nairobi, from international and regional diplomats, to end tensions and avert bloodshed on a massive scale. What lessons can be learned from the intervention in Kenya? What does it mean for the UN's emerging responsibility to protect doctrine?

Presenter: Ambassador Peter Chavaes – has had careers in both the diplomatic and military arenas.  He has served as Ambassador to Sierra Leone and Malawi.  After retiring from the Department of State he became Director of Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University.   He was the Director of the Office of West African Affairs and the Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs at State. He has also served as the Political Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces in Europe.  He holds degrees from Denison and Rutgers Universities

Mar. 10 - Preventing Genocide, Dr. Paul Magnarella

Dr. Paul Magnarella – is the Director of Peace and Justice Studies at Warren Wilson College.   With degrees from University of Connecticut, Fairfield University, Harvard, and a law degree from The University of Florida College of Law.  Magnarella has published widely – penning a long list of books, articles and selected chapters in collections other than his own – focusing most recently, on the area of human rights, international justice, third-world politics, racial & ethnic conflicts, and genocide.

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Registration Form (.pdf)