CNN host and Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria will discuss “In Defense of a Liberal Education,” the title of his New York Times best-selling book, March 8 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Zakaria comes to campus as the College of Arts and Sciences’ 2016 Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor. He will speak at 5:30 p.m. in the Genome Sciences Auditorium, 250 Bell Tower Road. The lecture is free, but seating is limited. In anticipation of high demand, the small auditorium in Genome Sciences will serve as an overflow room with video and audio of the lecture streamed from the main auditorium. Parking is available in the nearby deck after 5 p.m.
In his latest book, “In Defense of a Liberal Education” (2015), Zakaria argues for a renewed commitment to the world’s most valuable educational tradition. A well-rounded education teaches one how to write, speak and learn — immensely valuable tools for any profession, he notes. Technology and globalization are actually making these skills even more valuable as routine mechanical and even computing tasks can be done by machines or workers in low-wage countries. More than just a path to a career, Zakaria says, a liberal arts education is an exercise in freedom.
Zakaria is the Emmy-nominated host of CNN’s flagship international affairs program “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” a Washington Post columnist and a contributing editor at The Atlantic. Esquire Magazine described him in 1999 by as “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation.”
Zakaria is also the author of the books “The Post-American World” (2012), “The Future of Freedom (2007), “From Wealth to Power” (1999) and “The American Encounter” (1998).
Born in India, he received a B.A. from Yale College and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has received honorary degrees from numerous universities, including Brown, the University of Miami and Oberlin College.
The Frey Foundation Professorship was established in 1989 in the College to bring distinguished leaders from government, public policy, international affairs and the arts to campus. UNC alumnus David Gardner Frey (AB ’64, JD ’67) chairs the foundation.
For more information on the event, visit college.unc.edu/frey For more on Zakaria, visit http://fareedzakaria.com/.
Listen to an interview on WCHL radio about the lecture with Lloyd Kramer, director of UNC’s Program in the Humanities and Human Values.
