ONLINE: Do you enjoy following and discussing current events? Each week, we will look at news and issues from around the world and at home. The instructor will provide an agenda with notes and links, and members of the class are encouraged to propose additional discussion topics. Active participation is encouraged, but not mandatory. Discussions are enriched by the diversity of class members’ backgrounds, expertise and viewpoints. Topics are discussed knowledgeably, respectfully and sometimes with passion, but we always end with humor. Students will gain a better understanding of the social and political issues of the world today. Each instructor is an avid news and politics junkie and has experience leading these types of discussions. Each brings his or her own distinctive style and background to the course, and, most importantly, each will encourage a wide selection of views from class members. Students who bring unique or underrepresented points of view are especially welcome. | Facilitated discussion.
Max enrollment: 24.
Henry Blinder served as city attorney for the City of Durham for many years prior to retirement. He is past president of the North Carolina Association of Municipal Attorneys and a former deputy attorney general for the State of New Jersey. He has a JD from Duke University Law School, and lived in Durham for more than 35 years. He now resides near Washington.
Virginia Gray, Ph.D., taught political science at the universities of Kentucky, Minnesota and North Carolina. She participated in election night survey analysis for NBC News in the 1980s. She is an expert on state politics; public policy, including health care reform and criminal justice; and interest groups. Gray has published widely on these and other topics and is a fellow of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Stuart Kaplan performed agricultural research for over 40 years. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in crop physiology from Purdue University. Since retiring, Stuart typically volunteers weekly at Red Cross blood drives throughout the Triangle. He has taken over 30 OLLI courses, covering a wide range of subjects, and lectured on GMO crops.
Doug Longman spent 25 years in marketing management at Fortune 100 firms. He holds a Ph.D. in business administration and taught at the University of Texas and the University of Chicago. Over the past 20 years, he has taught more than 40 OLLI courses in international political economy, public policy, economics and politics/political science. Doug has led this course for over 20 years.
Wade Overgaard worked as a senior-level actuary for a Fortune 500 insurer. He received a BA in economics and mathematics from Duke. A native Chicagoan, he has lived in the Hartford, CT, area since the early 1980s.