Great Decisions lecture series examines US in a multipolar world

The College of Wooster welcomes the 2026 Great Decisions of Wayne County lecture series focused on the theme of “The U.S. in a Multipolar World.” The series opens Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m., with a screening of the Academy Award-winning documentary "American Factory," followed by a Q&A with director Steven Bognar and producer Jeff Reichert. The series continues with speakers on Feb. 17 and March 4 and 31. All events are free and open to the public and will take place in the Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center, 525 E. University St.

Great Decisions aims to enrich the learning of Wooster students and the broader community. This year’s series invites audiences to think deeply about how U.S. domestic and foreign policy is being shaped by the rise of other global powers. The speakers bring a depth of knowledge on regions that are increasingly important as sites of geopolitical rivalry but often understudied in the U.S., from the Arctic to Southeast Asia to Africa.

The Feb. 3 event is a screening of the film "American Factory," a documentary on a Chinese-owned factory in Dayton, Ohio. Bognar and Reichert’s examination of the factory shows the complex outcomes of Chinese investment in the U.S. from the perspective of both American and Chinese workers. Even as workers struggle with cultural misunderstandings, friendships and deeper mutual understanding take shape. The film reveals the challenges and potentials of cooperation between American and Chinese companies.

On Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m., Eileen O’Connor, a diplomat, journalist and attorney, will be talking on multilateralism. Her talk is titled “Going it Alone is Neither Safe nor Smart.” O’Connor, founder and CEO of Garnet Group Public Affairs, brings a deeply informed perspective on U.S. foreign policy. She was a senior vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation, a deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia and worked as a journalist for ABC and CNN in London, Tokyo, and Moscow. Her work has focused on media, economic empowerment of women and vaccine distribution.

On Wednesday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m., Kathryn Lavelle will be giving a talk titled “American Foreign Relations in the Arctic: Money, Power, and Science in a Changing North.” Lavelle, a professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University, has written five books and multiple journal articles on multilateralism, the politics of climate change and international finance. She has been awarded fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the American Political Science Association, where she worked as a congressional fellow on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services. Her most recent book "Reluctant Conquest: American Wealth, Power, and Science in the Arctic" was released by Yale University Press in 2025.

The final event Tuesday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. is a talk by Eric Olander on “China, the U.S., and the Global South.” Olander is the editor-in-chief of the award-winning multimedia initiative The China Global South Project, which produces news and primary-source research about China and the Global South. He is also a journalist with more than 30 years of experience reporting, producing and managing newsrooms for some of the world’s leading editorial organizations, including CNN, FRANCE 24 and the BBC World Service, among others.

The Great Decisions Lecture Series, established in 1981, is supported by The College of Wooster and numerous local donors. For more information, refer to the Great Decisions of Wayne County website at https://greatdecisionswayne.voices.wooster.edu/.