Santa Monica College is pleased to announce the lineup of the fall "Global Connections Lecture Series," starting Sept. 24 with "A Muslim Writer's Perspective: Hollywood & the Publishing Industry," by Kamran Pasha.

The lecture series is free and seating is on a first-arrival basis. All lectures are at 11:15 a.m. in Humanities & Social Science Lecture Hall 165 on the main SMC campus, 1900 Pico Blvd.

Pasha is a writer/producer for the NBC TV series "Kings" and one of the first successful writer-directors in Hollywood. Also a published novelist, Pasha specializes in developing film and television projects with Muslim themes and was a writer for Showtime's Golden Globe-nominated series "Sleeper Cell."

The remaining lineup in the "Global Connections Lecture Series" for the fall semester is:

* Oct. 29 - ""Who Are the Real Chosen People: The Meaning of 'Chosenness' in Judaism, Christianity & Islam," with speaker Dr. Reuven Firestone, professor of Medieval Jewish and Islamic Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute in Los Angeles. Firestone is also a rabbi, author of scholarly books and articles, and Senior Fellow at USC's Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement.

* Nov. 19 - "Is Bagram the New Guantanamo? War & the Courts After 9/11," featuring Dr. Kal Raustiala, Director of UCLA's Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations. Raustiala also holds a joint professorship at UCLA Law School and the UCLA International Institute, where he teaches in the Program on Global Studies, a multidisciplinary undergraduate program.

The series is sponsored by the SMC Office of Public Programs and the SMC Associates, a private organization that funds speakers and special programs on campus. For information, call (310) 434-4303 or go to www.smc.edu/associates.