DESCRIPTIONS PUBLIC AFFAIRS/CURRENT EVENTS

A Deadly Cocktail: Childhood Trauma, Guns, and Mental Illness

PACE 1005

Tuesday

Dates: 9/19 to 10/10 (4 weeks)

Time: 9:30–12 noon

Facilitator: David Savitz

Location: Jefferson Unitarian Church

Class Limit: 35 Participants

Sponsoring Site: West

The incidence of crime in America by the use of guns or influenced by illicit drugs by persons suffering from mental illness is staggering. Many perpetrators, who place our lives in peril and shatter our dreams of normality, suffer from a severe mental illness. Their upbringing is usually marked by different forms of childhood trauma and/or adverse experiences. Those experiences can result in mental illness and commission of risk behaviors. The behaviors often lead to the perpetration of criminal acts. This class will explore those relationships to enable the attendee to better understand the existential threat of mental illness to society’s safety and the need for effective treatment to improve the life of the sufferer and those affected by their behavior.

The focus areas for the four sessions are: 1) an understanding of childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences; 2) real-life case examples of individuals who experienced trauma and consequences; 3) the statistics of mass shootings and abysmal mental health care in America; and 4) the case of Ross Carlson, a 19-year old who executed his parents. He was diagnosed with an unusual psychiatric illness called Multiple Personality Disorder, and spent six years in a torturous journey through Colorado’s judicial and state mental health systems during the 1980s. This case resulted in regional and national news coverage and the publication of two books, one of which was authored by the facilitator.

China and U.S. Competition: Current Challenges

PACE 1003

Tuesday

Dates: 9/19 to 11/7 (8 weeks)

Time: 9:30–11:30 AM

Facilitator: Dan Strammiello

Location: Ruffatto Hall

Class Limit: 20 Participants

Sponsoring Site: Central

This course will involve weekly discussions of current topics relative to China’s position and goals in the world. Topics will be discussed each week as follows: 1) Contemporary China’s beginning and today’s antagonisms, 2) Beijing vs the United States, 3) Beijing vs India, 4) Beijing vs the Current World Order, 5) Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, 6) Beijing’s Military, Economic and political tactics, 7) Mercantile Competition, Trade and Tariffs, 8) Demographics as Destiny and China’s Limitations. This course is designed for participants who have some background in China and/or world affairs or with expertise relative to another country. It will be held seminar style with weekly lectures and discussions.

Collective Defense Arrangements—the Past, Present, and Future

PACE 1006

Tuesday

Dates: 9/19 to 11/7 (8 weeks)

Time: 9:30–11:30 AM

Facilitator: John Bowen

Location: Online

Class Limit: 45 Participants

Sponsoring Site: West

The war in Ukraine has highlighted the issue of collective defense arrangements. When the Ukrainians showed cautious interest in joining NATO, it was used by Russia as justification for its invasion. Why was Russia threatened by the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO? Collective defense is a principle of foreign policy that has been relied on for centuries by many countries including the United States. This course seeks to describe the concept that remains at the heart of the foreign policy of many governments. Currently, we see a resurgence in collective defense with the expansion of NATO. At the same time, we see significant stresses among the collective partners because of factors not related to defense. Collective defense has not been without problems. The course will focus on the strengths and weaknesses of collective defense, its current incarnations, and its future forms.

Current Economic Issues: Facts and Fallacies

PACE 1011

Wednesday

Dates: 9/20 to 10/25 (6 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: Leonard Sahling

Location: Online

Class Limit: 40 Participants

Sponsoring Site: Central

This course will examine six key economic issues in the news including economic growth, the mounting government deficit, economic inequality, our inefficient health care system, high prescription drug prices in the U.S., and immigration. Here are some of the questions that will be addressed: How fast can the nation grow? Is faster growth a good thing? Will the Covid-19 pandemic impair the US’s long-term economic prospects? What are the benefits and costs of immigration to Americans, and does one exceed the other? What is causing the US’s widening economic inequality? Is the “American dream” now just a pipedream for all but the richest Americans and their children? How burdensome will the massive Federal deficit be in the future? Why does the US spend so much more on health care than other high-income countries, and are we getting our money’s worth? Why are pharmaceutical drug prices so much higher in the US than in other industrial countries?