Carlos Eire of Yale University discusses his experiences as one of the 14,600 children airlifted to the U.S. from Cuba between 1960-1962 and the U.S. misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Cuba's condition under Castro that motivated Eire to write his memoirs—arguing that Cuba continues to labor under severe human rights violations. To appreciate and comprehend the benefits of freedom, students need to know what it's like to live without freedom—or worse, in conditions of harsh repression, even genocide. To help teachers teach students about life without freedom, FPRI's Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education, in cooperation with the National Constitution Center and the National Liberty Museum, assembled some of the world's leading analysts—and witnesses—of countries without freedom. The conference helped teachers define totalitarianism while examining the history of the idea of freedom.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to "When Repression Masquerades as Social Justice: Confessions of a Cuban Boy" under "Speakers and Topics." Audio and video options are available.

Chinese activist Wei Jingsheng discusses his own experiences as a political prisoner in China and the mistakes the West makes in its perception of modern-day China as a relatively "free" country—when, in fact, it remains a country of severe oppression, with freedom for few. Students grow up in a free society; it is the only kind of society they really know. To appreciate and comprehend the benefits of freedom, students need to know what it's like to live without freedom—or worse, in conditions of harsh repression, even genocide. To help teachers teach students about life without freedom, FPRI's Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education, in cooperation with the National Constitution Center and the National Liberty Museum, assembled some of the world's leading analysts—and witnesses—of countries without freedom. The conference helped teachers define totalitarianism while examining the history of the idea of freedom.

The lecture is conducted in Mandarin with an English translator. Audio and video options are available. To listen to this lecture, scroll to "China: The Cultural Revolution and Beyond" under "Speakers and Topics."

Warren I. Cohen of the University of Maryland discusses the rise of U.S. and Chinese power on the international stage. He emphasizes the fact that China's rise is not the region's first assumption of prominence on the global level—and that the original Chinese empire was, as were Western empires, based on conquest and racism. He notes that China will likely wield its power in opposition to the U.S., just as the U.S. has opposed other global powers in the past—and that the economic future of China is still in doubt. This lecture was conducted for "China's Encounter with the West: A History Institute for Teachers," held on March 1-2, 2008. The event was sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Asia Program, and held at UTC.

Audio and video options are available.