Covenant Village

2625 Techny Road, Northbrook
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Spring 2012

PASSPORT TO THE WORLD - FOREIGN RELATIONS

When Washington leaders voted to raise the debt ceiling last fall, Republican Senator Tom Coburn allegedly said, “This is a win for the politicians and a loss for the country.” How will the ongoing gridlock on Capitol Hill affect the United States’ position around the globe? What impact will the European Union members’ precarious economies have on international relations? Our Passport speakers will address these issues and many more.

Lectures meet on Tuesdays, 1-2:15 pm

HUM S53-46, COVE, 4 Tue., 4/24-5/15, 1-2:15 pm, $40 in-district residents age 60 and above. CRN 40929

HUM S53-47, COVE, 4 Tue., 4/24-5/15, 1-2:15 pm, $55 out-of-district residents or those under age 60. CRN 40930

Tuesday, April 24

China on the World Stage

After 30 years of rapid economic development, China has re-emerged as a political, economic, and military world power. Z.J. Tong, president of Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute, explores the implications. How will this impact China’s foreign relations policy? How is such policy formed? How does the Internet impact government decisions? Should Western countries consider China a partner and stake-holder—or a competitor and enemy? Topics will include human rights, nuclear proliferation, environment protection, North Korea, South China Sea, and Tibet.

Tuesday, May 1

Operation Freedom - The Berlin Airlift

The Belin airlift of 1948 was one of the greatest achievements in American military history. When Soviet troops cut off access to West Berlin, threatening the lives of 2.5 million people and provoking the first major international crisis of the Cold War, U.S. General Lucius D. Clay built a bold “bridge across the sky” to provide supplies, involving 700 planes and 250,000 flights over a 14-month period. German historian Anette Isaacs, M.A., discusses this exciting time in her country’s postwar history.

Tuesday, May 8

The Democratization of Arabs?

Democracy could bring momentous change to the Middle East, a part of the world traditionally dominated by dictatorships and monarchies. Toufic El Rassi, author and Columbia College faculty member, will review recent events in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya in light of the United States’ relationship with many of the recently-deposed regimes. Learn what impact recent revolutions and unrest may have on the United States and its allies.

Tuesday, May 15

Did Marx Foretell Today’s Economic Crisis?

As the world economy struggles with increasing debt, growing inequality, and massive environmental destruction, Karl Marx is making a comeback. Recent articles in The Financial Times of London and The Economist have contended that no one captured the dynamics of the world economy’s present predicament better than this 19th-century socialist philosopher. Peter Hudis, Ph.D., who recently completed dissertation on Marx, examines thinker’s work, which takes on new importance in light of the global crisis of capital.

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