Gadi Baltiansky is director general of the Geneva Initiative in Israel, an NGO that promotes a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians through diplomatic, political, educational and public tools. Previously he served as a member of the official Israeli negotiation team with Syria and the Palestinians in 1999, and as a non-official advisor to the negotiating teams in 2007-08 and 2014-15. He also served as press secretary for the Israeli prime minister, advisor to the foreign minister, and press counselor at the embassy in Washington. At this event, Baltiansky will discuss steps to reach a breakthrough in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the role of the United States. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/baltianskyg

Mohammed Dajani is professor of political science, and worked as head of libraries and founding director of the American Studies Graduate Program at Al-Quds University (2002-2014). He is author of numerous books in English and Arabic including: Holocaust Human Agony: Is there a way out of violence? (2009), Wasatia: The Spirit of Islam (2009), Jerusalem from the Lens of Wasatia (2010); Dajani Glossary of Islamic Terms (2015). Teaching Moderation and Reconciliation in Midst of Conflict (2015). Dajani made headlines in spring 2014 when he led 27 Palestinian university students to visit Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Krakow to teach them about the Holocaust. His courage and dedication cost the professor his job at al-Quds University and compromised his personal safety. At this event, Dajani will argue that peace between Israeli and Palestinians is attainable. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/dajanim

Donald Trump's election to the presidency unsettled many areas of American foreign policy, but few more than the nation's relationship with East Asia. The list of serious issues that have emerged from East Asia over the past year is long and diverse: North Korea's nuclear program; the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative; America's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership; the controversies over the THAAD missile system; questions related to cybersecurity, tariff policy, and human rights; territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas; and much more. This workshop will offer a one-year retrospective on U.S.-East Asian relations, with presentations by David Kang (left), professor of international relations and business at the University of Southern California; Mitchell Lerner, associate professor of history and director of the Institute for Korean Studies at The Ohio State University; James Matray, professor of history at California State University, Chico; Jennifer Miller, assistant professor of history at Dartmouth College; and Meredith Oyen, associate professor of history at University of Baltimore-Maryland County. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/trump-eastasia

	Political science graduate student Reed Kurtz used a Mershon grant to travel to Bonn, Germany, for the COP 23 climate summit.

In June 2017, a comprehensive report released by AARP, The Aging Readiness and Competitiveness Report, examines the preparedness of 12 countries around the world for facing the challenges of growth in populations aged sixty and over. This report focused on four key sectors: 1) Community and Infrastructure, 2) Productive Opportunity, 3) Healthcare and Wellness, and 4) Technological Engagement. On each of these, the report assessed countries as leaders, movers, or laggards; the report cites the United States as a leader on only one of the four sectors (technological engagement). Joan Ruff, J.D., is board chair for AARP. Read more and register

What role does religion play in the formation and preservation of national identity? What should we do when religious pluralism threatens the integrity of the political community? Are transnational religious commitments compatible with national political ones?  Read more

8:45 - 9 a.m. - Welcoming Remarks

9 - 11:45 a.m. - Sessions 1 and 2: Islam and the liberal state

9 - 10:30 a.m. : Presentations and Moderated Discussion

10:45 - 11:45 a.m.: Audience Q and A

Speakers:

Mustafa Akyol (Freedom Project, Wellesley College)

Zareena Grewal (American Studies and Religious Studies, Yale University)

Shadi Hamid (Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution)

Moderator:

Amna Akbar (Law, Ohio State University)

1:15 - 2:45 p.m. - Session 3: Religion and American national identity

Speakers:

Sam Haselby (Aeon Magazine)

Tisa Wenger (Divinity School, Yale University)

Moderator:

Korie Edwards (Sociology, Ohio State University)