GCPL Newsletter, August 2025
During this upcoming academic year, the GCPL will be examining several policy topics which are central to contemporary American public discourse. These topics will be explored extensively in readings and discussions in the GPCL courses, as well as via the GCPL’s experiential educational programming.
1. The Political Impact of Artificial Intelligence
As part of its ongoing examination of the impact of Artifical Intelligence on contemporary – and particularly political – life, the GCPL will be hosting two events this year which will focus on this theme. The first event is a talk to be held for the GCPL Steering Committee at Hiram. The speaker – John Kelly, Esq. – is a Bay Area lawyer and politician who has extensive experience with corporations and products at the forefront of the AI revolution. He will be explaining what the latest, cutting-edge developments are in AI and how they are impacting both business and politics in California and the world.
The second event will be held in California during the summer of 2026. Individuals associated with the GCPL will have the opportunity to spend a weekend in the Sonoma County wine region, and to meet with leading figures from Silicon Valley to discuss AI-related themes (and to engage in a bit of wine tasting and culinary indulgence).
2. U.S. Policy Relating to Middle East Security
In light of this summer’s military activities in the Middle East – including, in particular, the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities – the GCPL will be examining the current state of Middle East security arrangements, and the possibilities for U.S. foreign policy in that region. In order to conduct this examination, the GCPL will be hosting an in-person seminar on this topic during the fall semester.
The GCPL will also be focusing its crisis simulation for the GCPL students – which will be held in the fall semester – on this theme. The student teams for this simulation will represent the governments of the U.S., Iran, Israel, and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council; i.e., Saudi Arabia and several of its neighbors). As always, each of these teams will be mentored by a current or retired member of the U.S. Armed Services.
3. Nationalism and the Future of American Political Parties
One of the core topics of contemporary American life pertains to the transformation which appears to be underway in the American political party system, insofar as the Republican party has shifted, through the leadership of President Trump, to embrace a more nationalist platform; a platform via which he has now won the presidency twice. At the same time, there is a widespread recognition of the need for leadership in the Democratic party which can speak to voters more effectively, on this and other issues.
Given this context, the GCPL will be hosting a spring seminar – either in-person or via video conference format – regarding the future of the two major American political parties.
The GCPL will also be examining comparative cases of nationalist politics, particularly in Europe, in order to better understand this political phenomenon. As part of this examination, the GCPL will be taking the students on a week-long trip to Italy in March 2026 to examine the “modified nationalist” policies of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and to compare her policies and perspectives to those of leaders in Europe and in the U.S.
4. Government Policies Relating to Sustainability
During this past year the GCPL has been working with various organizations and groups – both on and off Hiram campus – to develop a programming focus on issues of public policy pertaining to environmental sustainability.
The GCPL will be continuing and expanding this focus in this coming year by working directly with Hiram’s Fist Year program, in order to bring guest speakers to campus to talk with the freshman class regarding the theme of sustainability (which is the First Year’s program’s theme for 2025-2026).
At the same time, the GCPL is actively working to develop relations with organizations off-campus which have an expertise in working on sustainability initiatives with government agencies, and which may want to partner with the GCPL on long-term programming initiatives.
5. The Supreme Court in our Era
The role of the Supreme Court has assumed new dimensions in our current era, resulting from the combination of ideological intensification and the proliferation and ubiquity of information media.
In the spring semester of 2025, the GCPL will therefore focus on this topic when it takes the GCPL students to Washington D.C. for a multi-day visit. As we have for the last few years, we will be organizing our D.C. activities in partnership with The Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College.
During our time in D.C., we will host a seminar relating to the Supreme Court’s current trends, tensions, and dynamics. We will also arrange meetings with experts of the Court, and ideally with a sitting Supreme Court Justice. Visiting the Court, and sitting in on a case hearing, are also at the top of our list of programming goals.
James Thompson, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science
ThompsonJA@Hiram.edu
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