War and terrorism have prompted academics to question the role
of the United States since Sept. 11, 2001 ““Â and an
honors course offered this quarter invites students and the public
to hear answers from experts.
Chancellor Albert Carnesale will be the course’s first
guest lecturer today, initiating a quarter-long series that will
feature talks by scholars from diverse fields pertaining to
international relations.
Carnesale’s lecture, titled “National Security
““ Evolution or Revolution?” will take place at noon in
Dodd 147. The course, “The U.S. and the World Since
9/11,” meets Wednesdays and is open to the public.
“This is our attempt to help the community at large to
understand and deal with the changing scope of international
affairs,” said Geoffrey Garrett, Vice Provost of the UCLA
International Institute and the class’ director.
“These issues are affecting all of our lives,” he
said.
The Chancellor’s expertise on national security,
especially with regard to nuclear weapons, has been sought by high
officials on numerous occasions. Carnesale served on the Strategic
Arms Limitations Talks team, which in 1972 produced arms control
agreements between the United States and the Soviet Union,
including the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
He also served as a consultant to the Executive Office of the
President, the Departments of Defense, Energy and State, and the
Director of the CIA.
The class, listed as Honors 155, will feature a weekly guest
lecture by an expert in some facet of the post-Sept. 11 political
landscape. Planned speakers include experts on various regions of
the world, including UCLA professor of political science Steven
Spiegel, an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Garrett also looked outside of the UCLA faculty to find speakers
that he felt could benefit the course, including UC San Diego
Professor Susan Shirk, who will address issues regarding the Far
East, and USC professor Steve Lamy, who will discuss post-Cold War
relationships between Europe, Russia and the United States.
Garrett expressed satisfaction with the public turnout at the
first lecture last week, which he estimated at 100 people in excess
of the 185 enrolled students, adding that he expects an even larger
crowd for Carnesale’s lecture.
Despite the broad range of topics addressed in the course,
students will still be asked to focus on specific aspects of the
contemporary political situation. The majority of each
student’s grade will be based on a 15 – 20 page paper
developed during the quarter.
In the midst of conflict in the Middle East, the course will
seek to examine the war in Iraq in context of the post-Sept. 11
political context.
“We’re going to look at the war as a manifestation
of the post 9/11 climate and as an event that will have important
ramifications for further shaping world affairs,” Garrett
said.