BIZARRE AND TROUBLESOME NEWS STORIES: THREADS OF CULTURAL DECLINE?
Instructor:  Dr. Ruth Ann Kalish

Course Description:  America has raced into the 21st century with events that appear to rattle the fabric of our cultural heritage.  Are these stories symbols of a social and psychological shift in our society?  Have we lost our rudder?  Dr. Kalish will explore value issues, trust, integrity, aggression, human boundaries and celebrity role models.  America’s social and psychological character will be viewed from an historical perspective.  Is there validity in Virgil’s words of 19 BC, “from a single crime know the nation?”

Six Lectures:
Set One:
          1.   China Trade – Trading Quantity for Quality:  What is the American response to China imports into the United
                States?  Is government? business? Protecting our citizens?
          2.   Who is Protecting Our Southern Border – the Gonzales/Ramos case:  Are our border guards caught in the middle
                of confusing and unclear policy?
          3.   Anti-Semitism Incidents on the Rise:  Is America tolerant of religious and cultural freedom and do we protect
                citizens here and abroad?
Set Two:
           4.   Vice President Cheney Hides Behind Executive Privilege: What has happened to the balance of power delineated
                 in our Constitution?
           5.   U.S. Supreme Court – an Independent or Political Body? A look at the composition of the Supreme Court, its
                 recent decisions and implications for the future.
           6.   Looted Assets, Restitution and Justice:  The continuing legacy of  World War II and the Holocaust and America’s
                 role in pursuing justice.

Biographical Information:  Dr. Ruth Ann Kalish was educated at Boston University (BA and MA Degree), Georgia State University (Ph.D.), Emory University (Ph.D. studies), and was a Graduate Fellow at Harvard University.