News Release

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman will discuss "The Rising East: India and China in the 21st Century," at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Shriver Hall Auditorium on the Homewood campus of The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. The event is free and open to the public. Call 620-574-8004, or e-mail fas@jhu.edu for information.

Friedman's speech will address the emergence of India and China as powerful players on the world stage and how America might compete or cooperate with these powers. A three-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Friedman is best known for his foreign affairs column in The New York Times. He has also written a number of books, including "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," "From Beirut to Jerusalem," "Longitudes and Attitudes," and the recent bestseller "The World Is Flat," which discusses globalization during the transition from the 20th to the 21st century.

Friedman's lecture is part of the 2006 Foreign Affairs Symposium, an undergraduate-organized series that brings influential, distinguished and high-powered individuals from the world of politics, academia and the media to the university's Homewood campus. This year's theme is "Ideologies in Flux: Examining Divergent Political Strains in Geopolitics." The group's Web site is www.jhu.edu/fas/.

Other speakers this spring include:

Monday, April 3, 8 p.m., Shriver Hall Auditorium. MSNBC host Chris Matthews, addressing "War and the Media."

Tuesday, April 11, 8 p.m., Levering Union's Glass Pavilion. Francis Fukuyama of The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins, addressing "America at the Crossroads: Finding America's Role in a Changing World."

Wednesday, April 26, 8 p.m., Levering Union's Glass Pavilion. Dennis Ross, former Middle East special envoy, addressing "A Struggle for Peace: The Future of Israel and the Palestinian People."

Other symposium events include the following panel discussions:

"AIDS Crisis in the Sub-Sahara," featuring Thomas Quinn, senior investigator of infectious diseases at the NIH; Robyn Munford, director of Student Partnerships Worldwide; and Roxana Rogers, deputy director in the Office of HIV and AIDS at USAID. Wednesday, March 15, at 8 p.m., in Hodson Hall, Room 110.

"Prospects for Democracy in the Middle East," featuring Eleana Gordon, vice president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; Barry Rubin, author of "The Long War for Freedom: An Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East;" Salameh Nematt, Washington bureau chief of Al-Hayat News; Christopher Preble, author of "Exiting Iraq: Why the U.S. Must End the Military Occupation and Renew the War against Al Qaeda," and foreign policy director at the Cato Institute. Wednesday, March 29, at 8 p.m., in Hodson Hall, Room 110.

"Remaking Europe: Turkey's Role in the EU," featuring Erik Jones, professor of European studies at the SAIS Bologna Center; Sabri Sayari, professor of international studies, Sabanci University in Turkey; Sylvie Goulard, professor of European studies, Science Po in France. Tuesday, April 18, at 8 p.m., Levering Union's Glass Pavilion.

All events are free and open to the public. Call 610-574-8004, or e-mail fas@jhu.edu for information.