LEWISTON, Maine - A group of Bates students and faculty will present a panel discussion titled "Perspectives on Globalization," to be followed by a question-and-answer period, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Benjamin Mays Center, Bates College. The public is invited to attend this event, sponsored by the Bates Democrats, the College Republicans, the Bates Libertarians and the campus Anti-Sweatshop Coalition, free of charge.

Panelists include Aslaug Asgeirsdottir, assistant professor of political science; William Corlett, professor of political science; Francesco Duina, assistant professor of sociology; and Dan Dargon, a Bates junior from Jacksonville, Fla.

Asgeirsdottir teaches courses on the international political economy and international cooperation. Her research interests specifically include who gets what in international negotiations.

Interested in community education and organizing for economic justice, Corlett's current research includes studying the promise and limitations of Western liberalism. His recent publications include two books: "Class Action" (Cornell, 1998) and "Community Without Unity" (Duke, 1989, 1993).
 Duina's research and teaching interests include economic sociology, globalization, the nation-state, the European Union and South America's Mercosur (an economic integration project involving Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). His most recent publications include a book, "Harmonizing Europe: Nation-States Within the Common Market" (State University of New York, 1999), co-authored with John Hall, as well as articles on the question of social contexts and legal implementation in the European Union, the relationship between the nation-state and the European Union, and the drivers of European integration.

Campus organizers hope to provide the opportunity for a nonpartisan exploration of the restructuring of global politics and economics, a controversial and important topic for many on campus, said Erin Russ, co-president of the Bates Democrats, who is a senior from Buffalo, N.Y.