FVCC lecture looks at Turkey's role in Europe, Middle East

Flathead Valley Community College’s 2019 Honors Symposium continues Thursday, Feb. 28 with an examination of Turkey’s geopolitical role in Europe and the Middle East.

The theme of this year’s symposium is “Europe at a Crossroads: Social and Political Threats to European Unity and Why They Matter.” Dr. Monika Fischer will shed light on the pivotal role that Turkey, as a Muslim but non-Arab country, plays in bridging Europe and the Middle East and how an increasingly antagonistic and autocratic Turkish government along with recent periods of civil unrest may indicate that Turkey’s role on the global stage is changing.

Fischer is a professor of German and Russian studies at the University of Missouri, where she also serves as the program director and an associate of the Center for the Digital Globe. Her teaching and research are centered around issues of globalization with an emphasis on the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Honors Symposium continues a tradition of bringing thoughtful public discussion to Northwest Montana regarding current hot-topic issues. Free and open to the public, all lectures begin at 7 p.m. in the large community room in FVCC’s Arts and Technology Building.

Subsequent lectures in this year’s Honors Symposium are:

March 7: “Post-Soviet Politics and the Rise of Nationalism in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia” presented by Dr. Marty Manor Mullins, research associate with the John Jay Institute, officer at large for the Slovak Studies Association and history and political science professor at FVCC.

March 14: “The Brexit Battle: What It Means for Europe and America” presented by Dr. Craig Parsons, professor and department head of political science at the University of Oregon.

March 21: “European Security after NATO” presented by Dr. David M. Andrews, professor of politics and international relations at Scripps College.

The 2019 Honors Symposium is funded in part by Humanities Montana, the Kalispell branch of the American Association of University Women, FVCC Alumni and Friends, and the Theodore Chase Endowment Fund.

For more information, visit www.fvcc.edu/honors-symposium or call Gerda Reeb at 756-3889.