RIT Gannett Lecture and Film Series Takesa Critical Look at Globalization

Rochester Institute of Technology’s Caroline Werner Gannett Lecture Series explores globalization and human rights with the lecture, Globalization: What You Don't Know Will Hurt You.

The joint lecture will combine perspectives from author and trade lawyer Lori Wallach and scholar David Reid, director of the Center for International Business at RIT. The presentation-free and open to the public-will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, in Webb Auditorium of the James E. Booth Building.

Wallach is director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, a nonprofit organization founded by Ralph Nader in 1971. She co-authored the book, Whose Trade Organization?, and won Harvard Law School’s Kaufman Fellowship for Public Interest Excellence.

Reid, RIT’s Benjamin Forman Chair of International Business, has published extensively on corporate decision-making, advertising and consumer patterns in Southeast Asia.

"This unique program presents divergent perspectives on the increasingly contentious issue of why global commerce is promoted, how the agenda and decision-making process of international institutions are shaped, and who benefits from the ‘neo-liberal’ trade policies of globalization," says Robert Manning, director of the Gannett lecture series. "The distinguished speakers will offer their insights on how the current slump in the global economy will affect American society and future trade and investment trends."

As part of the Gannett series, Maquila: A Tale of Two Mexicos, by upcoming Gannett lecturer Saul Landau, will be shown on Thursday, Oct. 24, in Webb Auditorium.

For more information about the Gannett Lecture Series, call 585-475-2057 or visit www.rit.edu/gannettseries.

About the lecture series: Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Liberal Arts began the Gannett Lecture Series in the mid 1970s, usually in two-year thematic blocks which have included environmental, Constitutional and millennial themes. The series coordinates with the university’s Senior Seminar, requiring all seniors to attend.

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