Lecture series begins with global look

Poverty, hunger, and substandard housing are just a few of the topics that will be touched upon at The University of Memphis' Mitchell Auditorium at 1:30 p.m. Sarah Clark Miller, a professor of philosophy, will be holding a lecture entitled, "Global Need: Global Responsibility."

"Global need is truly one of the most pervasive problems facing us today," Miller said.

Globalization is looking at how the world is connected and in this instance, the U.S. response to the rest of it.

"Do we have a greater obligation to the victims of Katrina or to the children starving oversee who are dying?" said Jonathan Judaken, a history professor.

Miller said there is proof of the problem.

"As evidenced by the large numbers of people worldwide currently suffering from hunger, disease, violence and poverty," Judaken said.

Miller is giving the first lecture as part of the Marcus W. Orr Miller lecture humanities series.

"Dr. Miller will be speaking about the ethics of globalization," he said. She is also writing a book on the matter: "Global Responsibilities: Vulnerability of Self Determination."

Judaken, along with Miller and other professors, established "The Global Challenge" for the Honors Program.

"I helped to establish the Honors Humanities Global Challenge course because it provides a unique and exciting opportunity for students to explore issues of globalization in an in-depth manner from a variety of perspectives," Miller said.

Five different professors teach the different aspects of globalization.

"It is a broad topic to investigate," Judaken said. "It is a complicated issue. It is an exciting undertaking," he said.

Kenneth Fleming, a freshman pre-med major, said it is necessary to help, but only if they need it.

"I think it is very important," he said. "Most of the world hates us (United States). We should only help if they ask for it."

Sophomore Shakia Clark agreed.

"We should help them out because we are the most powerful country in the world," she said.