Great Decisions 2007

We've been participating in an 8 week program at the 92nd St Y called Great Decisions 2007. It's an annual program of the Foreign Policy Association intended to provide a forum for education and discussion of global issues for citizens. Each year different, relevant topics are discussed at multiple seminars. The FPA has been doing this for over 50 years. There are over 100 programs a year at locations across the country. We first heard about it from our friends Allan and Ellen Sharfstein who participated in Florida.

This year, the topics include:

1. War Crimes
2. Mexico - a neighbor in turmoil
3. Children - helping world's endangered
4. Central Asia - three powers competing for resources
5. Climate Change - and global warming
6. South Africa - facing new challenges
7. International Migration in a global economy
8. The Middle East - the US role

An annual FPA discussion guide is included with readings for each topic. In addition, each week a handout is distributed with current readings for the this week's and next week's topics. The format varies based on group size and location with meetings taking place during the day or in the evenings. Our group of 16 meets for 1 1/2 hours after lunch and is comprised mostly of women (there is one and sometimes two men besides myself). The group begins with a discussion of current events of interest to the group which may or may not be related to the days topic. The discussion is always surprisingly thoughtful and interesting. Not surprisingly, I'm generally the most business-oriented and conservative in the discussions - but I'm frequently surprised by the depth of knowledge and perception of most of the comments. There is noone in the group I would describe as not making a positive contribution. Interestingly, the course, as presented in Florida, had a completely different format. There were about 600 participants in a large auditorium with the FPA discussion leader presenting the material with slides and brief Q&A period at the end. Ordinarily, I would have preferred that format, but the quality of the discussion in this group has changed my mind. Hopefully, the group will be as good next year.

We go back to school!?

Any topics that interest us. There's a lot to choose from. We've taken courses at NYU, museums, and the 92nd St Y. We even joined a private library, the Mercantile because they have discussion groups about books. Sometimes joined by friends, most often Ellen and Al Sharfstein (he's also on an extended sabbatical). One of the more interesting things we discovered was a group called One Day University. They had the idea to run a one day series of lectures featuring world class professors from Ivy League schools. The target audience was Baby-Boomers like ourselves who might be interested in topics they couldn't get out of the daily papers. It was inspired by the orientations that schools do for parents telling them a bit about what their kids will be studying.

This is the second "semester" for the program, the first having taken place in the spring. This time around there were 300 people at the session and they've added sites in New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida.

The day is just right with a total of 5 sessions of varied topics interspersed with refreshment and lunch breaks. Lectures complete with audio visuals and sometimes handouts are always concluded with a question period. My own personal favourites are the more obsure topics. Like the discussion of "Resilience" and how it impacts peoples ability to succeed. Or the discussion of the Imperial Presidency which included a good discussion of the Constitution and the Founding Fathers views of "Separation of Powers". In short, let's make sure they're at each others throats and can't do too much. Kind of like our own view that a divided government between the two parties is the best antidote to over-reach.

There was one 'miss' this time, but on the whole, topics were informative and stimulating and both felt it was a day well spent.

COURSE SCHEDULE AND PROFESSORS

9:00am - 10:00am
Psychology: The Science of Human Resilience
Andrew Shatté, University of Pennsylvania Most Popular Teacher Award

10:15am - 11:15am
American Studies: The Dawn of Cinema and the Transformation of America
Charles Musser, Yale University Film Department Co-Chair and Director
As part of our "extended sabbatical" we are always looking for speakers, programs, courses.

11:30am - 12:30am
Literature: Fairy Tale Culture in Modern Life
Marie Tatar, Harvard University Dean for the Humanities

12:30 - 1:30
Lunch Break

1:30 - 2:30
Sociology: Crime and Punishment 2006
Devah Pager, Princeton University Professor and Fulbright Grant Winner

2:45 - 3:45
Political Science: George W. Bush, the Imperial President?
Richard Pious. Department of Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University, author of The American Presidency

4:00 - 4:30
Reception



One Day University