News Release

CHAPEL HILL — "French-American Relations on the Eve of the Election," a discussion by a panel of experts, will be free and open to the public Wednesday (Oct. 20) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Audience members will be encouraged to participate in the 7 p.m. program at the George Watts Alumni Center on Stadium Drive.

"We seek to provide a public forum for anyone who has an interest in France, the United States and the issues that unite or divide them," said Dr. Lloyd Kramer, Dean Smith distinguished term professor of history at UNC. "The goal is to stimulate an exchange of ideas about current French and American perceptions of both nations."

Topics and speakers will include:

· "French American Relations Today: Enduring Conflicts or Political Sound Bites?" by Dr. Erwan Lagadec, public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C.

· "France-U.S.: The Tensions of a Partnership in War and Peace," by Dr. Steven Vincent, a history professor at N.C. State University.

· "How the French Media Portrays American Politics Today," by Terry Maguire, co-owner of FrancePress and publisher of "Journal Français" and "France Today."

After those presentations, Kramer will moderate a discussion in which audience members may comment and ask questions. A reception will follow.

The UNC General Alumni Association and the Institut Français de Washington will sponsor the program. The institute, an organization for French-American studies, has been based at UNC since 1972.

Also supporting the program are the Office of the Provost, the College of Arts and Sciences and the history and the Romance languages departments.

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Event contact: Dr. Lloyd Kramer, 919-962-9824, lkramer@email.unc.edu

News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, 919-962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, 919-962-9585