Delaware’s 2016 Great Decisions Community Discussion Series on U.S. Foreign Policy kicks off Friday with a lecture on “The Koreas” by political scientist Ji Young Choi.
Ji Young Choi is a professor of politics and government department at Ohio Wesleyan University.
All Great Decisions discussions will begin at noon in the Fellowship Hall of the William Street United Methodist Church, 28 W. William. Attendees are welcome to bring a brown-bag lunch, organizers note. Complimentary coffee and tea will be provided.
Other speakers during the eight-session series are:
• Feb. 5, “The United Nations,” featuring Stephen Tull, a native of Delaware and United Nations Resident Program coordinator in the Republic of Chad.
• Feb. 12, “The Middle East,” featuring Alam Payind, director of the Middle East Studies Center at The Ohio State University.
• Feb. 19, “The Kurds,” featuring Melinda McClimans, assistant director of the Middle East Studies Center at OSU.
• Feb. 26, “Cuba and the United States,” featuring Miguel Martinez-Saenz, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Otterbein University.
• March 4, “Mexican Migration to the United States,” featuring Robert Gitter, Joseph A. Meek Professor of Economics at Ohio Wesleyan.
• March 11, “The Road to a Stable Climate: What’s Next After Paris?,” featuring Marianne Gabel, leader of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby in Delaware, with a CCL panel.
• March 18, “The Rise of ISIS,” featuring Michael Houlahan, Foreign Service Officer (retired), U.S. State Department.
Following each discussion, audience participants will have the option of completing a quick survey — prepared by the nonprofit Foreign Policy Association — to add their opinions to others across the nation. The survey results will be made available to federal decision-makers.
Local sponsors of the lecture series include the American Association of University Women, Kiwanis, League of Women Voters, International Studies Program at Ohio Wesleyan University, William Street United Methodist Church, Willow Brook Christian Communities, Cruise One and private donors.
The Great Decisions Discussion Program, a free community discussion series, is designed to encourage debate and discussion of the role of the United States in world affairs, organizers say.
