MOUNT VERNON — Author, journalist and commentator Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, will speak on “The Future of Freedom” on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in King Chapel at Cornell College.
Zakaria’s lecture, the second in Cornell’s Delta Phi Rho Lecture series, takes its title from his second book, “The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad,” released in 2003. Admission to the lecture is free. Zakaria will sign books at a reception in Cole Library following the lecture.
Editor of Newsweek International since 2001, Zakaria oversees Newsweek’s eight editions throughout Asia, Latin America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. His column — on subjects ranging from terrorism, national security and America’s role in the world to the global economy and the rise of China — appears in Newsweek, Newsweek International and often The Washington Post, making it one of the most widely circulated columns of its kind in the world. His award-winning cover stories have included “Why America Scares the World,” “How to Win the Peace” and “Why They Hate Us.”
Describing him as “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation,” Esquire named Zakaria “one of the 21 most important people of the 21st century.”
“The Future of Freedom” is a global analysis of how democracy has changed every aspect of our lives, from economics and technology to politics and social relations. His 1999 book, “Wealth to Power,” was a provocative examination of America’s role on the world stage. Zakaria has written for publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal.
A political analyst for ABC News, Zakaria serves as a regular member of the roundtable on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” Zakaria began hosting “Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria” on PBS in 2005. He also has appeared on “Charlie Rose,” “BBC World News,” “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “Meet the Press.”
Indian-born and trained as an academic at Yale and Harvard, Zakaria, at age 28, became the youngest managing editor in the history of Foreign Affairs, the leading journal of international politics and economics. Before joining Foreign Affairs, he ran the Project on the Changing Security Environment at Harvard University, where he also taught international politics and economics.
The lecture is funded by the Delta Phi Rho Centennial Endowment, created by early 1960s Cornell alumni for the social group’s anniversary in 1998. The purpose of the endowment is to contribute to the intellectual capital of the college and the community by bringing nationally prominent figures to campus to interpret current issues and encourage student and faculty involvement in public affairs. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Bob Woodward presented the inaugural Delta Phi Rho Lecture in March 2004.
