BELLINGHAM - Lectures ranging from the impact of tourism on the Himalayas to everyday life in 21st century Cuba highlight the annual World Issues Forum this fall at Western Washington University.

The lecture series is sponsored by WWU's Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies. All events are free and open to the public.

Lectures are noon to 1:20 p.m. Wednesdays in Fairhaven College auditorium, unless otherwise noted. For details, see wwu.edu/depts/fairhaven. Here's the lineup:

- Oct. 3: "Beyond The Zionist Paradigm - New Hope for Israel and Palestine," with Miko Peled, author, activist and son of Matti Peled, Israeli general.

- Oct. 10: "Tourism, Development and Sacred Peaks in the Himalaya," by Julie Tate-Libby, instructor of anthropology and sociology at Wenatchee Valley College. James Loucky, professor of anthropology at Western, will offer a comparative response.

- Oct. 17: "From Che to Castro: Life as an Organizer in Cuba," by Daisy Rojas from the Martin Luther King Center in Havana; accompanied by Diego Benitez of Cuba International and Amy Truax of Witness for Peace NW.

- Oct. 24: "Cultural Activism in a Time of Crisis," by Susan Noyes Platt, art historian and art critic.

- Oct. 31: "Bahrain: The Uncovered Uprising," by Jen Marlowe, documentary filmmaker and author.

- Nov. 7: "The 2012 U.S. Election - A Domestic and Global Perspective," by Todd Donovan, professor of political science at Western.

- Nov. 14: TBA.

- Nov. 28: "Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation," by Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta, Canadian author and Quaker-Jewish activist.

For more information, call Shirley Osterhaus, 360-650-2309.