The Transylvania County Library will host Great Decisions, America’s largest discussion program on world affairs, beginning in February 2020. In partnership with the World Affairs Council of WNC, UNC-A, Blue Ridge Community College, and Isothermal Community College, the Library will conduct a six-week series beginning February 5, 2020 and running through March 11, 2020 on consecutive Wednesdays at 3PM in the Rogow Room. Each week will focus on a different topic and will feature a presentation by a scholar in that field, followed by discussion
February 5 — Tom Sanders speaks on “Red Sea Security”. Sanders holds a PhD from Columbia University and is a retired professor of religious and international studies. He has taught for over 20 years in the OLLI program at UNCA, featuring courses on Turkey, the Kurds, Political Development in the Arab World, Religion & Ethnicity, and Politics in the Middle East.
February 12 — Sonia Kapur leads the discussion on “India-Pakistan-Kashmir”.
February 19 — Surain Subramaniam discussion topic will be “Philippines & Pacific Theater”.
February 26 — “Immigration – Northern Triangle” will be presented by John Plant.
March 4 — Roger Helm’s topic is “Climate Change & Global Order”. Roger Helm is a 25 year career official with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. His service in the agency began following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill; he led the Department of the Interior’s damage assessment team following the massive Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He has co-authored articles and book chapters and presently teaches courses on climate change. He holds graduate degrees in Biological Ecology from UC-Davis and the Moss Landing Marine Labs in Monterey, CA.
March 11 — We complete the series with Julie Snyder’s presentation, “China in Latin America”. Snyder is a retired U.S. diplomat with the Department of Commerce who worked in the field of international trade for over 30 years. In her assignments to U.S. embassies in Canada, Asia and Europe, she focused on a wide range of trade agreements to support of the U.S. business community.
The Foreign Policy Association, which began Great Decisions in 1954, publishes a Briefing Book which includes readings on each topic. The Library will have several copies of these books available for participants who wish to borrow one. There is no charge to attend Great Decisions at the Transylvania County Library and no registration is required. Participants need not attend every session in the series. The Great Decisions program is funded by the Transylvania County Library Foundation. For more information, contact the library at 884-3151.