By Laura Good
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
War, terrorism, genocide and their effects on international relations-the issues plaguing the minds of many Americans will be addressed in a lecture series beginning tonight.
Over the course of the next few months, lectures, sponsored by the International Residential College, will be held periodically on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Minor Hall.
The series will focus on international relations and global hotspots, namely South Asia and the Middle East.
The series opens tonight with Philip Zelikow, director of the Miller Center and history professor, who will present a discussion on "Decision-Making in the Cuban Missile Crisis." It ends April 23, with Dennis Ross' discussion of the pursuit of peace in the Middle East.
"Our wrap-up speaker is Dennis Ross, who was the chief negotiator in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and served under both President Bush Sr. and Clinton," said Bruce Reynolds, director of academic programs at the IRC. "Ross is extremely knowledgeable and will draw a big crowd."
Other lecture topics include U.S.-U.K. relations, the relationship between the United States and China after the events of Sept. 11, Clinton's Haiti intervention and Rwandan genocide.
In one lecture, the ambassador from Pakistan, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, will speak on the relations between Pakistan and India.
"That's an obvious hotspot," Reynolds said. "We may see nuclear war there - God forbid."
The series is being sponsored by the IRC, the department of government and foreign affairs, the Arts and Sciences Council and the International Relations Organization.
"The IRC counsel voted to devote $7,000, more than 20 percent of their annual budget, to this lecture series," Reynolds said.
The money comes from the IRC's student activities fees.
"You could spend that money on pizza," Reynolds said, "but the IRC counsel chose to provide the community with a lecture series that would benefit everyone."
The IRC is the University's newest residential option.
"It's intended for students with a particular interest in international issues," Reynolds said. "A very small minority are visa-holding students."
The IRC's brainchild lecture series is designed to broaden the insights of University students on issues of international affairs, Reynolds explained.
"This is just the kind of thing that U.Va. does well," he said.
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